Things Run Deep
by Sen Kotoba
Summary: It's been two years since Yuri's death. Flynn's starting to see him out of the corner of his eye more and more... (AU, Fluri)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm not sure where this came from, to be completely honest with you. It's obviously alternate universe: Yuri dies at Zaude, Sodia keeps it secret until two years later, blah blah. All I have to say is let it play out. I promise, there's a point.

* * *

The dagger that started and ended it all laid on the desk between them, finally harmless now. He hadn't known for sure - hadn't even had a reason to feed the flame of doubt that had burned since Zaude - but now it was certain. She had even spoken the words, uttering her guilt to her commanding officer and wondering if it had killed her more to keep it silent or speak it aloud. He knew he couldn't let her stay in the knights. Not after she had killed Yuri Lowell.

Flynn wanted to press his fingertips to his forehead against the headache building, but there was still more to be done in the official role of Commandant. "Why now?" he asked wearily. "Why are you tell me now?"

Without lifting her head, Sodia answered softly "Because it's been two years, sir."

Two years. Flynn closed his eyes briefly. Two years since he helped Brave Vesperia with destroying the Adephagos. Two years since the loss of the blastia. Two years since the battle with the former Commandant Alexei. And if Sodia was telling the truth... two years since she slid her dagger between Yuri's ribs in the resulting confusion. Yuri had needed to be brought to justice for his crimes, and now he never would. He'd never see his face again. That thought made him open his eyes again, steady on his former second-in-command. "You know you'll be thoroughly punished for your crime?" His voice was harsh, but he couldn't help it. Even through it all, Yuri had been his childhood friend. "After Alexei, you are aware no one is to be spared the full punishment of a crime?"

She nodded, her gaze shifting to a point behind him, a soldier's fixed look. Sodia knew all the consequences, and still went forward with it. Flynn nodded to the only other person in the room - a gaping guard, unwilling to believe Sodia would have done such a thing - telling him "Take her into custody" with a steely but not completely unkind tone. Even though... she had still fought by his side. He couldn't stop from being a little soft on her.

Once Sodia left the room in the guard's custody, Flynn let himself sag in his chair, his gloved fingers pressed against his eyelids. Two years of her hiding this, and it couldn't have been revealed at a worse point. While no humans had been attacked, there had been reports of small animals and monsters being found strangely mutilated in towns near Zaphias. There was a feeling it was only a matter of time before a human or a Krityan would turn up in the same fashion. Flynn had planned on leaving for Halure in a few days to investigate, but this would set his plan back by several days. He didn't think Sodia would fight the trial, and the sentencing would go quickly, but he would have to remain to follow it through to the end.

He owned her loyalty that much.

Flynn lowered his hands from his face, in some ways still trying to make sense of what had just happened. Yes, he knew that his second-in-command had just confessed to murder. He knew what he had just done, at least what it had meant. He knew he would never be called to the Lower Quarter again because Yuri was being Yuri and needed a good thumping-

With a shove, he pushed himself away from his desk and stood, trying to distance himself as much from his thoughts. In so many ways, he didn't know what to do now. The woman he always thought would ceaselessly be by his side was now in jail, having slain the man he had grown up with and perhaps knew him better than anyone else. Everyone was looking to him for guidance in of the mutilations, and he knew he would have to make a trip to Dahngrest. Brave Vesperia needed a true resolution as to the fate to one of their guild members. That, he reasoned as he walked out the door to his office, could wait. Or maybe it shouldn't. Repede, at least, would find a measure of closure in the sentencing of the woman that murdered his master.

He paused outside his door, the thought of Brave Vesperia, Repede watching Sodia's body twist in the breeze with a satisfied growl while Karol and Judith look on, with Rita and Lady Estellise in attendance due to the fact this was the woman that took their friend from them- was that really what they wanted? Was that really what they needed? The thought made ihim/i sick - would he really be able to let the people he fought beside see this? His head reeled as he opened the door, the previous decisions needing to be made buried under these new worries. And under it all, a rising tide of sorrow at the confirmation that Yuri wasn't just hiding out somewhere.

What was he going to do?


	2. Chapter 2

The report the next day answered that question for him. Since it would take a few days to assemble everything necessary for a fair trial for Sodia (though there was no question that she would be found guilty. It was more asking for a fair judgement than decision of guilt), there would be time for other pursuits, as long as they were close by. Such as the mutilation coming closer to the towns and one pet that had been missing from Zaphias itself turning up in the wilderness in such a state. The reports were getting more and more disquieting: the monsters and small pets being bitten and torn apart by what appeared to be fairly small pair of jaws in comparison to some predators, as well as less blood than what was expected. Whatever it was, it was getting closer to civilization, and closer to harming someone living in the towns.

So Flynn spent the day investigating and decided to leave that day with a much smaller retinue than he originally planned. If his orders were a little more scattered than usual and his demeanor a little shadowed with sorrow, his men didn't mention it. They knew that, if anything, he wanted to forget that his second-in-command would have done such a thing. So they obeyed, wanting to forget the same.

Even though they were moving far more quickly than previously considered, the sun was well into its descent by the time they came across the first oddly bloodless monster body. They wouldn't be able to make it back before nightfall, and there were more than a few of the knights that looked uneasy at the prospect of travelling while something like this was out there, unknown as to what it was. As his unit started to set up camp, Flynn took the time to examine the body.

It was as the reports said. Odd slashes throughout the body, and bites from small jaws. He couldn't imagine any monster small enough to do this kind of damage. The bites were jagged, more than slightly torn, but there was one that appeared near an artery... Flynn frowned, pushing away fur to see to the skin. It was the most intact of the incisions, and there was something wrong about it. His fingers measured out the width of it, noting where the canines would be and narrowing his eyes at it. Quickly, he looked over the rest of the monster, finding more bites, these less precise, but obviously from the same creature. The width was the same, as were the indents from the teeth. Flynn stood then, going over to one of his other knights that was surveying the surrounding ground.

"There's no unknown monster tracks," he confirmed to Flynn, moving carefully around as to not disturb the half-dried mud. It had rained recently, and while that should have helped, it seemed it hadn't done its job. "There's the usual foot traffic, and the tracks of the body, but nothing unknown. Though, sir, there is something I want you to see." He led Flynn over to the side, where previous travellers had rarely disturbed the dust, and gestured. There, a slightly smeared boot mark and perfect handprint lay. "Unless I miss my mark, sir," he continued, walking over and bending down, "it looks like there was someone here. And whoever it was landed like this." At that, he extended one leg, lifting Flynn's gaze to a previously unseen boot print, and put his hand down as if to steady himself. Or stop himself from moving further back after being hit.

Flynn felt a slight chill run down his back. The only monster tracks since the rain were from the dead one. If this information was correct, then it implied that it hadn't been a monster fight. There was a human or Krityan involved. "Thank you," he said, distracted by this knowledge as it started to connect with the bite marks. There was an idea there... and he didn't like it that much. The possibility that someone had gone that insane and yet was still able to evade capture was not something he wanted to think about.

His thoughts didn't turn much nicer as the sun went down, trying to puzzle out how to fit this new knowledge in with how they were going to investigate it and work Sodia's trial in with it. For a brief bizarre moment, he imagined Sodia bent over the monster with blood smeared around her mouth, but he quickly dismissed the idea. If anything, the handprint he found was much larger than hers, and more than likely male. But still... Flynn tried to ignore those thoughts as he started to get ready to bed down for the night, none of the soldiers that had come on the journey wanting to make their way back while dark. It seemed the idea that the culprit could possibly be one like them had circled through more than a few heads and no one wanted to try to make their way back until the dawn.

And so Flynn went to sleep, the evidence not quite making a complete picture yet.

* * *

If he was to be asked, Flynn would still have no answer as to what woke him. The only thing he could think after the fact was that it was too still and quiet for a military encampment, even one as small as what he brought. He reached cautiously for his sword as he stood, going to investigate what was wrong. What was that feeling that ran down his spine and told him to run away.

The camp seemed to be asleep. Flynn looked around, wondering why that seemed wrong to him. There was one person standing by a tree, looking like he was guarding the encampment. Or perhaps had fell asleep, as he was leaning against it. He made his way over to the guard, trying to move as silently as his armor would allow. It seemed rather loud, too loud, in the unsettling silence. Once he reached the guard, Flynn cleared his throat. "Soldier."

Nothing. One of Flynn's hands went to his sword reflexively as he reached the other out to touch his shoulder. The reason for the silence was starting to form, and made him pull his sword out of the sheath almost violently as the guard's body swung on a garrotte around the tree, the only reason he was still upright was it was tying him to the trunk. There was no snoring, he suddenly realized. No sleep muttering. No soldiers shifting in their rest. He turned suddenly, to face his encampment of the dead.

That what was saved his life. He could feel the scraping point of a blade catch on the edge of his armor and draw a line across his back. Flynn whirled to face his attacker, but he was too slow. It had already moved, and he had just barely enough time to put his hand to his neck in instinct before the wire garrotte came across his own throat, managing a finger's width of slack. Just enough to choke out slower as his assailant pulled the wire as tight as possible, almost inhumanly so.

And then- something rammed into them, causing the grip on the wire to be broken and Flynn to pitch forward. He dashed his head against the tree, stumbling briefly as the pain burst across his skull. It drove him to one knee as his balance went out, barely able to see out of the corner of his eye a pair of muddy boots coming towards him. Flynn slashed at the incoming threat, watching it jump back towards shadows, its dark clothing melding into it. But he could still see a flash of bone pale skin, peeking out in a familiar way as it growled at him. And then it turned, jumping after something that moved so quickly Flynn could barely follow it with his eyes. Trying to made him sick, a sign that the blow to his head might have been a bit too severe.

He had to get back to town. Back to Zaphias. Before the two came back, before one of them killed him. He already knew, just from that- he wasn't going to be able to kill one of them on his own, much less two. One moved too quickly, and the head injury he had sustained wouldn't let him concentrate long enough to defeat the other. Flynn stumbled his way towards where the mounts should have been, noticing with dismay most of them had been slaughtered. They had probably gone first, he thought with an inappropriate giggle, dimly noting that was another sign his brain had taken far too much damage with that blow. Or maybe it was the blow plus the choking. But even then, almost all the mounts they had brought had been killed.

All but one, which was trying to hide, rearing as far as its tied reins would let it when Flynn approached. He had no real talent at soothing frightened animals, and had no time to do so anyway. Instead, he untied the reins and mounted as fast as he could, letting it bolt in the direction of the Imperial Capital under its own volition, hearing the growling of one of the attackers come far too close as he did so. It quickly died away as the scenery rushed by, the frightened mount running faster than it normally would. Flynn held on as best he could, having to screw his eyes shut against the nauseating blur. It was only when the hooves sounded on cobble instead of dirt and the buzz of sleepily upset and annoyed humans reached his ears did he lift his head and open them again, just barely noticing they were rushing through the Lower Quarter of Zaphias. With a heave of effort, he pulled the mount to a stop, his body starting to slowly slide off as darkness claimed him among the citizens he had grown up around and promised to protect.

* * *

There was sunlight when Flynn finally woke again. His head throbbed dully, but not as bad as he had expected. He was lying on a familiar surface - his own bed by the feel of it - and there was the sound of someone trying to move quietly around him. Whoever it was poured water into a basin, the sound of it going through his head and making him wince.

"Oh, Flynn!" The familiar female voice also did the same thing, and he put a hand to his forehead as Lady Estellise rushed over, bending by his side by the sound of things. He hissed as his hand encountered the lump left behind by the attackers' activities. "Are you feeling better? You were rushed in here with that head injury and babbling about your unit being dead and monsters."

He had? Flynn searched his memory, unable to find the one about him saying anything to anyone in Zaphias about what had just happened. "I'm fine, Lady Estellise," he finally said thickly, opening his eyes carefully to look at her. Her eyes were closed as she pulled on her abilities, healing him again. Her gentle eyes opened as she finished, her gaze turning curious and more than slightly sad. "Lady Estellise?"

"The soldiers... is it true that Sodia...?" Her face held a slight hope, as if she had heard wrong. "She didn't, did she?"

Flynn closed his eyes, not wanting to say it right away. But eventually, he said, "It's true." His eyes opened, watching the hope on her face fade into sad acceptance. "Lady Estellise..."

"I knew it," she said softly. "Yuri wouldn't have just disappeared. He wouldn't have just ran away. Something had to have-" She broke off there, tears gathering on her lashes. "I didn't want to be right."

Flynn just watched as she scrubbed away the incipient tears, unable to comfort her. He had almost forgotten in the confusion of the attack about Sodia, and the consequences of her actions coming back to the forefront. Finally, he moved a hand to cover one of hers, awkward. "Have you spoken to Miss Mordio recently?"

Lady Estellise nodded, her hand turning to hold his. "Rita's going to tell everyone in Dahngrest. She's... said she's going to be there to watch the execution. I don't think-" Here, she yawned, long and deep as she betrayed her weariness.

"You should sleep," he said to her, gently, and before she could say anything he squeezed her hand. "I'm fine. Get some rest."

She smiled at him briefly, but stood gracefully. "Ioder will probably want to talk to you about what happened," she told him, warning him. "I... get well soon, Flynn."

"I will," he assured her, watching her go. Leaving him with his thoughts, his memories of the attack. Of the second attacker, one in muddy familiar boots a day after a rain with familiar clothing. Flynn carefully shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought without undoing all of Estellise's work.

It couldn't have been Yuri.


	3. Chapter 3

Tales of Brothers: There's... really only one thing I can answer without giving away too much, and that's my outline has it at around eight chapters.

* * *

As luck would have it, due to the decimation of the unit that left to investigate and Flynn's own head injury, the trial of Sodia had been pushed back. Everyone involved was insistent that the Commandant be there, to give his testimony of the events of Zaude as well as her own admission of guilt. It gave Flynn time to recover and consider the events that had just transpired.

There was someone out there that managed to kill his entire team before they could get out a single warning. But even more disconcerting was the person that had... rescued? Was that the correct word for what had happened there? Whoever it was had all the hallmarks of being the one killing the animals and monsters in bizarrely vicious ways. The mud on his boots, the questionable sanity... but the type of boots as well as the cut of clothes were distinctly Yuri's, and that was impossible. Yuri was dead. What had happened was easily explainable, Flynn rationalized as he walked down the halls towards Estellise's room. He had gotten hit on the head. So the attacker that seemed too fast? Very possibly could just be because of the traumatic head injury. He had already been thinking about Yuri due to Sodia's confession, so more than likely he had hallucinated the dead man as the other there. It soothed him slightly despite not sounding quite right, and he proceeded to knock on the door to Lady Estellise's room.

"Just a moment!" Lady Estellise said something softly, and another female voice answered her with a giggle. The princess answered her door, looking slightly distracted. "Oh! Flynn, I wasn't expecting you so soon."

"Flynn?" A melodic voice came from behind her, a beautiful husky rush over his skin that both caught his attention and uneased him. "Commandant Flynn? What a pleasure." A woman came close behind Estellise, her dark eyes dancing with amusement and curiosity in an even darker face, her hair swept up at the nape of her neck. She was striking, and Flynn felt as if he should have seen her before. She held out one gloved hand, graceful in an unnerving way. "Catherine d'Amante."

He took her hand unthinkingly, bowing over it. "Nice to meet you, Lady Catherine." She smiled at him, teeth white against her skin. "Lady Estellise, you're needed downstairs."

She nodded, turning to her company. "I'm sorry, I didn't really have time to-"

"It's perfectly fine," the Lady d'Amante interrupted her calmly. "I do need to take my leave. Untill next time, my lady, Commandant." With that, she swept past Flynn, leaving him with Estellise. For some reason, he couldn't help but watch her leave, trying to figure out where he might have seen the lady before and why she bothered him.

Estellise didn't move for a long while, and when he turned towards her, Flynn noticed that she had been watching her leave as well, almost entranced. "Lady Estellise?" She didn't move, only blinked. He reached out, taking her elbow, causing her to jump slightly. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded, smiling reassuringly at him. "I was just thinking, that's all! I'll be on my way now." Then she hesitated, looking at him. "Flynn, are... are you okay? You still sound a little hoarse."

Unbidding, his hand rose to his throat where the wire had bit into it, cutting off his air before his head had slammed into the tree. "I'm fine, Lady Estellise. Please, right this way?" Flynn moved to one side, gesturing for her to lead with him in close, guarded attendance. All the way, his thoughts were filled with why he would have seen Yuri, how his men could have been killed so, and a strangely familiar unfamiliar noble woman.

* * *

The only way it could have happened was if the watch guard had been taken out first, Flynn thought, watching as said guard was cut from the tree. He turned, looking through the bodies of the camp. It was impressive, to be honest. The way their throats were slit perfectly, or the blade had slid exactly between gaps in the armor to pierce the heart. A few had woken, but none of them had been able to make a sound. It was obvious as they were loaded onto wagons to be returned to the city for burial ceremonies, hands wrapped around their weapons.

And for some reason, the assailant had left him for last. They hadn't even attacked until he had awoken and seen his dead comrades. Why? What purpose would that serve? Was it a form of sadism, for the Commandant to see the men that served him dead under his command before being slowly bereft of life?

Not only that... he looked up as several scouts came up, their faces all drawn. "Nothing to report, sir," one said, uneasily. "There aren't any tracks in the surrounding area that could be from someone fleeing the scene."

Or being chased, he thought to himself. So, whatever it is was hiding its tracks. There was something even more unnerving about that, knowing the tracks it was hiding were also the ones from the serial mutilator. In his mind, the figure he saw took more and more qualities of Yuri Lowell, as if he could remember long flowing black hair and dark eyes in that pale skin. Flynn nodded at the scouts at that, dismissing them. There was nothing there that hinted to the identity to either attacker, and it wouldn't do to let his mind run away with the wild ideas.

"Sir?" One soldier, braver and less obedient than her fellow unitmates, didn't leave but rather pressed her hand to her heart in salute. "Commandant Flynn, sir, are you sure you should be out here?"

Flynn hesitated, looking at the young woman. She had to be freshly recruited, to be so bold. He started to snap at her, telling her that her place and rank was not to tell the Commandant what to do, but caught himself. Despite everything, he still found himself loose with his mood swings since the head injury, and he had nothing to do here. Everything was being taken care of by other knights, and there was no new knowledge. He finally nodded at her, watching her relax as the dressing down she expected never came. "Send word if anything new is found," he instructed her, going to his mount. He ignored as she sagged slightly in relief, riding away with his thoughts whirling around in fruitless circles.

With what little he learned, it was true the assailant... was a masterful assassin. It had been done perfectly and all tracks to discern identity as well as avenues of retreat were removed. The thought chilled Flynn as he rode back to Zaphias, watching the sky change as the sun slowly drifted down towards the horizon.

* * *

The scratch of the quill was the only sound in the room as Flynn worked through his report, casting as much as he could remember to paper. It was distressingly too little, and he knew there would be a little doubt cast on the events recounted through the lens of a head injury. Lady Estellise had healed it the best she could, but even remembering what happened after the injury was a hazy process at best. He sighed, carefully putting the quill down and sitting back in his chair.

No one had told him the Commandant position came with so much paperwork. The trip out to the monster had taken one report. The attack on his unit was another. Sodia was yet another. And on top of all that were the usual budgets... Flynn poured himself another glass of tea, profoundly thankful the servants had thought to bring him a fresh pot so soon after his last one ran out. He was going to need the caffeine deep into the night.

But it was no use putting it off either. He went back to writing his reports, finishing up the one and switching to the one for Sodia. That one needed more information, explaining the events at Zaude and how he could have not seen her kill his best friend in cold blood. His hand shook at the thought, and he closed his eyes at the rise of grief. After two years, he thought he had come to grips with the idea that Yuri was not coming back, and like Estellise said, hearing that he was dead from someone's lips was merely proving that little voice right. But it hadn't. Hearing it had made it worse, made him remember how it felt when Yuri couldn't be found after the battle with Alexei. Writing it- Flynn put the quill down again, unable to face the memories quite yet.

A knock at his door pull him out of his morbid reverie, and he went to open it to a very quiet and remote Estellise. "I'm sorry for the late hour," she said quickly, her hands twisting in front of her. "But... can I talk to you, Flynn?"

"Lady Estellise... of course." He took a step back, letting her in. Saying no to her was near impossible even if she hadn't been of royal blood, much less with her kind and gentle demeanor. He made to pour her a cup of tea as well, stopping when she shook her head. "Is everything okay, Lady Estellise?" he asked instead, taking a large gulp of the tea remaining in his cup.

She started to nod, then hesitated. "It... feels wrong, doesn't it? To know that Yuri won't just show up somewhere and be... 'oh sorry, I got caught up doing something'?" Estellise's hands cupped in front of her, trying to hide the trembling. "I knew that after what happened at Zaude and the fact he didn't show back up meant he probably was... but it doesn't make it any easier."

Flynn took her hands, knowing exactly what she meant. "It'll be okay, Lady Estellise."

She gripped him tightly, tears she had been suppressing for the last two years finally slipping free. "Why did she do such a thing?" Estellise sobbed, her face screwing up with the force of her breaths. "They were fighting on the same side! She had no- he didn't-" Her arms went around him as he drew her closer, letting her head rest on his chest as she cried. If her pink hair started to become damp, they weren't going let anyone know that Flynn cried with her, mourning the man he knew most of his life.

Finally, the two drew away from each other, Estellise carefully wiping her puffy red eyes. "I'm sorry, Flynn. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable like... are you okay?" She reached out, steadying him.

"Yeah. I'm just... it's been a long day, and-" Flynn rubbed at his eyes, his vision blurring as his legs weakened. "It's nothing, Lady Estellise. Attempts on one's life tend to make one tired and-" The joke ended abruptly as his legs gave out on him, going to one knee and dragging her down with him, making it deadly serious now.

"Flynn!" She hastily cast an Recover, to little avail. It merely made his stomach roll, and Flynn scrambled for a wastebucket to empty what contents of his stomach were left. Estellise looked around, her eyes wide as she tried to figure out what could have happened, and lighted on the teapot. "... guards! Get Rita, now, and get someone to see what's in that tea! Flynn, it'll be okay, I promise, I-"

His vision greyed out on her casting another Recover, tears streaming down her face.


	4. Chapter 4

Flynn dreamt.

He dreamt that he was made of ice and someone was pouring molten lava down his throat, making him sputter and choke. Whoever it was cursed in a familiar voice, clamping his mouth shut with a small hand covered by a fingerless glove. The lava flowed through his body and made him gag.

He dreamt that Alexei held him down by his throat, telling him he had been worthless as a private and he never could live up to the title of Commandant. He had a sword at Flynn's throat, taunting him mercilessly as he twisted and turned, trying to free himself. Yuri hung behind him, staring at Flynn accusingly, bleeding from multiple chest wounds.

He dreamt Lady Catherine stared down at him, dark eyes cool and pitiless, and said he was lucky he was still alive in Estellise's emotional voice.

He dreamt he was at Zaude, crawling towards Yuri as Sodia stabbed him over and over with her dagger, her face alight with a fierce glow as his best friend died and he was unable to do a thing about it. He reached a hand out towards Yuri as he reached back, their fingers just barely not touching.

He dreamt he was on fire and someone was tracing his face with ice. He nuzzled into the touch, the feeling resolving into cold fingers, making a pleased noise. Someone leaned over him, and lips touched his, causing him to stir and crack his eyes open.

The first thing he saw was a blood smeared face. Flynn instantly pushed the person on top of him off, trying to roll out of bed and grab his sword in the same motion and neither happening as his limbs tangled in too many heavy sheets in an uncoordinated mess. He looked over at the person that had woken him up, that had come in so close on the heels of the assassination attempt and-

It was the long dark hair that stopped him, cut raggedly and falling against dark clothing. Dark, oh so familiar eyes. If he had blood on his mouth it didn't matter because he was still alive, Sodia was wrong-

When the door to his room opened, Flynn twisted awkwardly in his prison of blankets to see Rita, her hands up holding a length of chain. Then she sighed, moving to let Estellise in as her posture relaxed. "It's okay," she told the noble woman, indicating for her to sheath her sword. "He just fell out of bed. Again," the mage added, pointedly.

"Yuri," Flynn croaked, turning his head towards where he had been. "He's still alive, he-"

There was nothing there, save an open window. Rita narrowed her eyes, walking over to the window and closing it. "Estelle, did you open this?"

"No, I thought you did." Estellise turned on her heel, not needing the young Miss Mordio to tell her to say "Check the courtyard!" to the nearby guardsmen. Then, she came over to him, gently helping untangle his limbs from the blankets. "Y-Yuri's dead," Estellise said patiently, in a tone that spoke of having to tell him this before, her voice hitching on the words only slightly. "It's okay, you can go back to sleep now."

He stared at her. "Lady Estellise, I wasn't dreaming. Yuri was right here. He's still alive!"

Rita gave out an unladylike snort, not turning away from her vigil at the window. "Flynn," Estellise started before her younger mage friend interrupted her.

"What Estelle's too nice to say is you've been raving about seeing him ever since being poisoned," she told him darkly, still not turning away from the window. "Saying Alexei was there too, torturing him. Or that Sodia was stabbing him. What you were dosed with gave you some pretty nasty hallucinations, Flynn."

He stared again, then let Estellise ease him into bed. It had felt so real, Yuri standing over him with the bloodied mouth, but so had his other dreams... Flynn stopped her as she started to pull the mass of blankets over him. "Thank you, Lady Estellise. But I don't need that many."

"You probably don't, now," Rita reluctantly allowed, finally turning away from the window. "You've probably sweated out enough of that crap as possible. You're really lucky that Estelle came to visit you, you know that? The fact she cast a Recover so soon and made you blow chunks probably saved your life."

Flynn looked at Estellise's averted face, certain she was blushing. "Thank you," he told her softly, taking her hand. "Have we found the culprit?" he asked, directing the question at both of the women, frowning as they shook their heads.

"Well, we know who it is," Estellise clarified, tightening her hand on his. "Some noble women have mentioned their... well, they have a..." She paused, a delicate flush across her cheeks.

"Some noble women have a stash of drugs for sleep," Rita interrupted again. "There was a maid that had been seen leaving your room that night that also attended those women. They're starting to complain their drugs are missing, so I'm thinking she skimmed some from these women, overdosed your tea, and is now hiding so we don't kick her ass."

Yuri's bloody face filled his mind, and a chill ran down Flynn's spine. "I see," was all he said as a guard arrived back from checking the courtyard and surrounding areas.

"Lady Estellise, Commandant, Miss Mordio." He pressed his hand to his heart in salute, not looking at any of them as if trying not to look at the normally strong Commandant laid low by someone cowardly trying to assassinate him via poisoning. "We haven't found any intruders."

Rita and Flynn stilled at that, implications filling the air when Estellise said "Have you checked under the statue of the goddess?"

The guard blinked at her. "The statue of the...?"

"Yes. When Yuri and I..." She took a deep breath. "When I took my leave of the castle with Yuri, we left through a passage under the statue of the goddess. It leads to the Royal Quarter."

The guard looked dumbstruck, as if it didn't occur to him to check that far or the passage. "We didn't-"

"Search it," Flynn ordered wearily, the adrenaline from his awakening wearing off. "And report to Lady Estellise and Miss Mordio when you have." He ignored the sharp salute and the women's surprised glances as he closed his eyes, tired.

He was tired of his mind filling in the gaps with Yuri's face.

* * *

"There's something you'll need to see," was all the soldier would say, insisting that all three of them accompany him down to the passage. Estellise tried to have Flynn stay behind, remembering monsters and not sure if he'd be ready to fight any while his body was recovering from the poison, but both the guard and Rita assured her it would be okay, both for different reasons. The passage was secured, the guard said, and Rita flippantly told her that Flynn would have to get out of bed at some point and head the investigation again.

And so down into the passage they went, following it until nearly the end where there was a small knot of knights, and a body. Female, Flynn could surmise as they came up. A maid. The missing maid, the one that tried to kill him? He cast his memory back, finding himself ashamed to say that he hadn't been paying attention to the servants that had come in that evening as he had worked on his paperwork.

When he and his guard finally walked close enough to see the body in full, Flynn blanched and he could hear Estellise let out a soft cry. The maid's throat had been torn out, and yet there was very little blood. "This is the first human victim, isn't it," he said softly to the nearby knight, closing his eyes as he confirmed. Unbidden, the hallucination of Yuri's bloody face, just a night ago, rose to forefront of his memory and his eyes snapped open.

"Flynn." Rita came over to him, her voice low. "What do you mean, this is the first human victim?"

Without turning away from the body, he also pitched his voice low. "Do you remember the bodies in the area? Small animals and monsters torn apart and oddly bloodless? My unit that was attacked when we went out was investigating one such body. But none of the bodies have been human, or even Krytian."

"And it's weird the first one like that is the one that tried to kill you." Rita shot him a look. "It could just be a coincidence, Flynn."

"The hallucination of Yuri had blood on his face," he told her quietly, watching her start out of her corner of his eye. Rita put a hand to her chin, thinking.

"I'll need to go back to Aspio and pick up a few things," she finally announced aloud, ignoring how Estellise jumped slightly at the sudden increase in loudness. "I should be back in a few days. Estelle-"

"Don't worry, Rita," Estellise assured her. "I'll be right here."

* * *

Flynn shouldn't have answered Sodia's request to see him. He was making absolutely no headway on the investigation on why the maid had tried to kill him and who had ripped her throat out, and seeing Sodia was the last thing he needed right then. Rita was due back any time, and some of the missive she had been sending had interested him.

Instead, he was standing in the prison, looking through the bars at the resigned woman standing at attention before him. Even now, she stood like a soldier. Flynn didn't acknowledge it, his throat aching from the last two assassination attempts and his hands balling at the memory of her admitting to killing his best friend. She stood like that for a full five minutes, then closed her eyes painfully.

"I worked alone," she said softly, the words making him jolt. "I never told anyone Yuri was dead until I told you. I wanted to... I wanted to confess to someone earlier and never tell you so you'd eventually forget about him, but-"

"I never forgot," Flynn said harshly. Sodia shook her head.

"You didn't." She swallowed, opening her eyes, fixing them again past Flynn in a soldier's stare. "Whoever's trying to kill you isn't one of mine, Commandant. I would sooner kill myself than allow that."

He studied her, trying to set aside his anger at facing the murderer of his best friend to determine truth. Sodia simply stood there, letting him, until Flynn was done. As far as he could tell, she was telling the truth. If anything, she hadn't actively contracted any assassins, and she was horrified anyone would try to kill her Commandant. And... she truly did feel guilt for what she had done, feeling justice was the proper path.

"I see," was all he said to her. And ignored the way she sat down, her face pained as he turned away, walking out of the jail. It was more of the same - nothing. They had learned nothing, and Sodia had given him nothing other than she had nothing to do with it. It was frustrating, to have nothing to do but wait.

"Oh, Commandant Flynn." The melodic husky tones from beside him made him stop, turning to face the Lady d'Amante. She was in the company of Estellise, as he noticed she had sometimes been these last few days. He had to admit that she seemed a good friend for Estellise. While he would rather it be Rita, at least Lady Catherine was slightly older than the Child of the Full Moon and had a calming presence on the woman. Also, he admitted grudgingly, Lady Catherine was at the castle more often than Rita, and could talk with Estellise more often. "I'm surprised to see you up and about. My lady Estellise has said you've come down with something frightful."

Estellise giggled at that. "I told you, you can call me Estelle. And Flynn insisted on heading the investigation himself." She gave Flynn a look, indicating that she knew he had just come from the jail where Sodia was being held.

He shook his head minutely, both telling her that he learned nothing and that he didn't want to speak of it in front of Lady Catherine. Despite liking her as a friend of Estellise's, he barely knew her and thus didn't trust her. Not in the middle of this. "I'm currently needed elsewhere, Lady Estellise, Lady Catherine."

"Of course, Commandant," Lady Catherine said, her lips just parted enough to show a glimpse of white against dark skin. Estellise promised to talk to him later with a look as she started walking away with her new friend, chatting with her about something that quite honestly went over Flynn's head. Something about dresses and how the cut made them look on her?

Women were strange.

* * *

It had turned late while he was down in the passage, Flynn realized as he yawned. Unlike on the road, there were some subtle clues at to what might have happened, and the identity of who killed the assassin. Against one wall was a hint of a handprint, a bootprint in a rarely stirred portion of the walkway. They were starting to paint a picture, and none of the knights liked what they saw.

He looked up at the exit, imagining Estellise and Yuri fleeing through here. How her face must have been alight with a fierce glow, being outside the castle for the first time and on a mission to find him. How little Yuri knew at that time about what was really going on, and who the blastia thief really was and how his journey would end. Flynn started climbing up, following in their footsteps long taken. The younger part of him yelled at him, telling him to go back and get his knights, there were assassins and an insane killer on the loose. But he ignored it as he emerged into the Royal Quarter, blinking into the moonlit air.

Two years ago, he thought, they were starting their journey here and not knowing what it entailed. What blastia really meant for the world, who they'd meet...

How'd they die.

Flynn's feet stopped as he looked up at the abandoned house, the one that long ago had rumored to hold an unscrupulous mage that had "fixed" the Lower Quarter water blastia and had started everything for Yuri. No one had officially lived there then, and there was no one living there now. It was almost as if the nobles were leaving it empty out of remembrance, a museum of where it all started.

A growl pulled him out of his thoughts, low and lupine. Flynn drew his sword, turning just in time to see something drop out of the tree, landing on something that bizarrely looked like Repede for one moment before its form resolved into a far too large wolf. For a moment, he thought it looked it it had human hands, but a blink later those resolved into paws again.

As for what landed on it...

Long dark hair, cut raggedly. Bone pale skin. Dark clothing, matted with blood. He lifted his face from fur, showing familiar features smeared with blood. His mouth parted slowly in a growl as inhuman eyes caught Flynn's, moonlight illuminating the insane form of Yuri Lowell perfectly. And then he rushed at Flynn, dodging his sword with ease and practice as he grabbed his hair with one ice cold hand, pulling it back as he bit his neck.

Pain blossomed at his throat, causing him to gasp. Dimly, he could hear Yuri swallowing, feel him lapping at his skin, but that soon was ignored as another feeling started, from the tips of his toes all through his body at once. It felt as if someone was stroking him with razor sharp fingertips from the inside out, painful and... almost pleasurable. He found himself dropping his sword, his hands loosely resting on Yuri's hips. He couldn't concentrate on anything else, understand how it was Yuri was alive... but he was. Even if it meant Yuri was insane right now and he had to stop him, Sodia was wrong. He was alive.

And then, suddenly, it went away with a curse, Yuri pushing him away. Flynn stumbled for a few steps, going to his knees as he fled into the Lower Quarter. "Yuri!" he cried out after the fleeing figure, ignoring how that alerted his sweeping knights as to where he was. He stood, trying to go after his best friend while one knight, a familiar one, LeBlanc, held him back. "Damn your hide, Yuri, get back here!" He could hear the other knights talking among themselves, but he didn't care. Not anymore. He had to get his friend back.

"He's dead, Sir," Flynn heard a murmur in his ear, heartfelt. "Don't make this any harder on the rest of us, Sir."

Flynn looked up at LeBlanc, realizing they hadn't seen him. They hadn't seen Yuri run by to the Lower Quarter as they came looking for him. He turned his gaze over to where the stairs would take one down to the poor section of Zaphias, a chill running down his spine.

* * *

A/N: So I call this the Shit Just Got Real chapter...


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I have never spent so much time walking away from the computer wanting to strangle characters than I have writing this chapter. Ioder, where did you come from and why did you bring all these politics with you? Also, this chapter is where it earns the M rating. Fair warning. Enjoy!

* * *

An Apple Gel was being dabbed at the bite marks on Flynn's neck by the castle's doctor when a small company came marching up to them. Carefully, he came to stand, recognizing the seal on their uniform as knights that served His Highness Ioder directly, and more importantly... yes, that blond head in the middle was certainly His Highness himself. Flynn saluted wearily, trying not to show how exhausted by all this he was.

That had been Yuri. _Yuri._ Though that did mean he had to put out a warning that he was dangerous, and had killed a woman in cold blood, not to mention had also bitten open Flynn's throat and drank his blood. What would push a formerly sane person to such insane depths...? What had happened at Zaude that had broken Yuri's mind like that? And how had he survived? The thought that perhaps surviving had been what broke Yuri's mind slithered through Flynn's thoughts and he suppressed a shudder. The guards parted, allowing Ioder to come forward. "Commandant Flynn," he greeted the man, the formality of his tone making Flynn blink.

"Highness Ioder," Flynn said back, bowing deeply. What was going on? It was late, very late... what did Ioder want with meeting with him at this hour?

Ioder waited for him to rise, then said firmly "Commandant Flynn. As of this hour, I am removing you from the investigation and temporarily relieving you of command."

The words rang in his ears, words he understood but didn't quite make a sentence that made sense. Flynn just blinked at him for a moment, trying to parse what was just said, then blanched. "Your Highness!"

"There's been three assassination attempts on you already," Ioder told him, momentarily confusing Flynn before his throat throbbed anew, that odd pain that rushed through all of his body at once. He opened his mouth, trying to tell him that Yuri hadn't been trying to kill him when Ioder continued on. "And you've been saying you're seeing someone that your former second in command has admitted to murdering. You need to rest, Flynn. And you need to be taken out of the public eye while we investigate what's going on." He nodded to his knights, and two of them broke off to go to Flynn's side. "My own personal guard will be watching you. I'll take your report once your better rested... and Flynn?" Here, he hesitated, showing that his cousin's fear for Flynn. "Stay safe."

With that, he left, leaving Flynn alone with two new guards, a doctor insisting that he sit down and get the bites tended to, and a thoroughly dumbfounded look on his face. He didn't need rest, he needed to go find Yuri and stop him. The assassination attempts... they would figure those out in time. Yuri needed to be stopped now! He had escalated past animals and monsters, and-

And no one would believe him if he tried to convince them. They hadn't seen Yuri, or had seen a shadow at most. The belief that he was dead had settled into everyone's mind, and it wasn't going to be dislodged any time soon. Flynn sat back down, numb, hands dangling uselessly between his knees. If this had been anyone under his command, he would have done the exact same thing that Ioder had done. Flynn sucked in a breath as pressure was put on the wound, not sure what to make of the resulting sensation. If it had been anyone under his command, he would have ordered their rest after being bitten like this and raving on about seeing their best friend alive again. Little wonder that Ioder that done the same. He let the doctor tend to him, then looked at his new shadows.

"You will trade off," he told them, not quite yet willing to give up command yet. "I don't think I need two of you at once." Flynn watched as the guards looked at each other, then said, "I'm only going to lie down. Nothing more. And if something does come up, I'd rather have one fresh guard than two tired ones." He turned away as the two relaxed at that, starting down the hall to his room.

What kind of proof was he going to need for them to believe that it was Yuri? And how was he going to get it without being in the path of another assassination attempt or being blocked by his guards?

* * *

It were probably the whispers behind his back that hurt the most.

They shouldn't have surprised him. He had been found in the Royal Quarter, bleeding from a humanoid bite on the neck, rambling about his dead best friend and trying to break free from a knight's grasp to follow a ghost. Of course as he walked down the halls in the daylight they would whisper about him. About his fracturing sanity, and how fit he was to be Commandant. One woman actually ushered her child behind her as he and his guard passed, both of them watching with wide, frightened eyes.

If that hurt the most, what was the most surprising was not meeting with Estellise after what happened. Flynn only saw her once, across a hall, in the company of her new best friend. Rita still hadn't arrived back in Zaphias, but she said she would catch a ride with Brave Vesperia when Ba'ul came by for the execution, still needing time for an experiment. In lieu of the mage, Estellise had been looking at Catherine, enraptured by the woman's presence. The dark woman, by contrast, had noticed Flynn, breaking off in mid sentence with her nostrils flaring and breath inhaled in alarm. She had quickly ushered Her Highness away after that, not letting Estellise see him at all.

The bite on his neck throbbed, only partially healed by the Gel the doctor had smeared on him. It probably would have healed to a neat scar by a First Aid if he had managed to speak with Estellise, but he hadn't managed to get to her. It was odd, having a wound heal slowly like this. Before, he could use his own First Aid, aer filtered through the blastia. Now, without blastia... he had forgotten what it was like, when he was an orphan brat on the streets without a blastia to help him or Yuri out. His hand came up, brushing over the marks gently. It had felt... good.

Flynn shivered at the memory, dropping his hand. It was enough. He had punished himself enough by walking through the halls looking for Estellise, listening to nobles talk about him and watching the fear of the ladies turn themselves away. It was time to return to his room and think about his next course of action.

"Commandant Flynn." Even though he had been relieved of command, the servant still called him by his title. "His Highness wishes to speak to you now in the audience hall."

Flynn looked at him, taken by surprise. Ioder wished to speak to him? At this hour? What could he possibly want to talk about at this time? He hadn't left his guard's view, and had in fact been perfectly complacent when they steered him away in thought that it would leave him too open for another attack. Of course, he had thought the same thing when they had done so and had been privately amused when they caught on. Little pleasures when under such watch and bereft of the company he was used to. "I'll be there shortly."

The servant bowed deeply, then scurried off. A hand through his hair, and a pull on his clothes to make sure everything was straight, and Flynn was ready to go see His Highness. The strangeness of the request stayed through the walk to the hall, making it a challenge not to frown in thought as he was announced and ushered in. As always, Flynn walked to the head of the chamber and knelt, head bowed as he awaited the reason for the summons.

"You can rise, Flynn," Ioder told him. "You must be wondering why I summoned you now."

"I wasn't expecting it," he admitted as he stood. Flynn took a furtive look around, noticing a scribe in one corner.

"It'll be too dangerous for you to be at the trial proper," Ioder said abruptly. "It's been counseled for you to give your testimony now, and for it to be read at the trial later."

Flynn blinked, not expecting that at all, and feeling a little more of his control at the situation slip from his fingers. He wasn't even allowed to go to Sodia's trial, to see justice be done properly. He opened his mouth, ready to speak out against it, to say that he should go, and found no words. Ioder was doing his job, keeping the Commandant of his army out of harm's way by keeping him out of sight of assassins. Not to mention, he thought dourly, out of sight of the nobles that had lost faith in him. A nagging sense that he might have already started to lose his battle to change the corrupt system from within started, and he ignored it, drawing breath to begin.

"We had followed former Commandant Alexei to the Enduring Shrine of Zaude..."

* * *

It was late when he was done relating his tale to Ioder. He had to retell several parts of the story again and again, as well as clarify several details. Sodia's confession had especially warranted several retellings and clarifications, leaving Flynn emotionally and physically exhausted. By the time he left, the castle was sparse and tightly locked down by the knights. "Sir, we should return straight to your room," his own guard said.

Flynn resisted the urge to rub his eyes, only nodding. "Yes," he agreed dully, still locked in the memories of what he had relived to Ioder as they walked. They were not, and would never be wholly comfortable memories. Even if he knew that Yuri was actually alive, if lacking sanity, he couldn't hold down the anger he felt at Sodia's revelation that she had stabbed him at Zaude. He would hold her responsible for Yuri's fractured mind, and see to it that she saw justice done for it.

An icy cold hand wrapped around his sword arm, dragging his weary body into a dim alcove as similarly icy hand slapped on his mouth, keeping him from crying out. Flynn was held to a strangely familiar body, momentarily shocked, watching as his guard slowed and turned. In that instant, from in front of him, two hands reached out from opposite sides of the hall in unison. One grabbed the guard with alacrity, pulling him with startling speed. A flash, and there was a spray of blood, arterial by the look of it. The assassin moved out of the shadows slowly - no, there were two of them. The small hairs rose on Flynn's neck as he realized they moved in perfect mirrored unison, each the twin of the other. He swallowed, trying not to breathe as the two walked past them in eerie steps, his... rescuer? dragging him further into the shadows. A nose was pressed against his neck, then a mouth, then teeth prickling his skin, causing a perverse desire to well inside him. He remembered that razor feeling stroking him inside, silvery and sharp. Unbidden, his eyes closed as his breath deepened, almost forgetting the danger. A low growl broke through his haze, causing his eyes to drift open and look down the hall where the assassins had gone.

They seemed like they weren't that intelligent. The two had steadily moved closer together, still eerily mirrored, when suddenly- Flynn stifled a noise when they merged almost violently. The now singular assassin looked far more intelligent, moving straight to the shadows and bounding as quickly as it could. The icy hands at his wrist and mouth slid away as Yuri - of course it was Yuri - darted out from behind him, a dark shadow after it. He put a hand to his neck where Yuri's mouth had been, trying to piece together what he had just seen.

Yuri. An assassin that could split itself into two. A dead guard. It suddenly occurred to Flynn that no breath had stirred at his neck when Yuri had pressed his teeth against his skin, and his stomach turned. Breath caught quick in his throat as his knees hit the ground, the clatter finally alerting a patrolling knight.

What had he just seen?

* * *

The following day passed in what felt like a fever dream. People were in and out to see him, speak with him; Flynn spoke about things he couldn't recall later. He didn't leave his room, he knew that much. But time meant nothing, and in mere blinks of eyes, he went from sunrise to a noon meal to night. His head felt almost too full as his memories resurfaced, the awful desire as Yuri pressed a breathless mouth to his pulse and an impossible assassin slayed his guard. He stood suddenly, chair clattering to the floor, thankful he was actually alone at this time.

He had seen that, right? Flynn started pacing the length of his room, cognizant of the guards outside his room and posted in pairs all along the hall. A small army, just for him. A bitter laugh caught in his throat and he ran his hands through his hair. He never wanted this. Not this. Never this. He just wanted his best friend back by his side, fighting with him. He just wanted everything to be... normal. The word rang hollowly in his head as he stared out the window, looking at the patrolling guardsmen. Normal.

There was something odd near one of the walls. Shadows skulking. Flynn's eyes narrowed, watching the shape of them. His breath stopped as he saw the gleam of steel flashing and striking, the shadows moving in a deadly dance. Had one of the guards found an assassin? Flynn ground his teeth, feeling useless until the moonlight hit one of the figures, making his eyes widen. No armor, and yes, that was Yuri darting back into the shadows. The other figure followed, the light briefly revealing the assassin that had reformed into one before, and the sound of their passing caused the patrolling guards to raise an alarm.

Flynn's heart started to pound in his chest. He could see the word pass between the knights that there were intruders, and how the pattern of their patrols changed to try to intercept them. The only way he was going to get answers was from Yuri himself, and the time to do it was growing even smaller as he thought about it. Without daring to breathe, Flynn opened his window and clambered out before his guards heard about the intruders and came to see him safe. A part of him, the part of him that screamed about his own fracturing sanity, that said this would only hurt his own cause more, told him to stop, to go back. But he carefully ignored it, too caught up in wanting to know what was going on and why and if it was really happening.

He hoped it was really happening.

Slowly, he crept along the courtyard, keeping to the bushes. Just as they ended, he was about to make a dash for the next set when something told him to wait. Good thing, for a knight ran right through the path, his armor clanking wildly. Flynn breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly quite aware that he had left his own armor in his room and wondering if he should go back to get it. If anything, his sword.

And then there was commotion near one of the walls, a guard having been found dead. Flynn nearly turned to look, to make certain what had happened, when he noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't be sure which one it was, but one of the two - the assassin or Yuri - was leaping over the wall where the dead guard diversion had left it unguarded. "Clever," Flynn murmured to himself as he followed, seized again by his wild need.

The chase lead him down through the city to familiar grounds. Every once and a while he would lose sight of them, then a flicker further down would alert him and he would rush after. Finally, in the Lower Quarter, he heard the faint sounds of blade against blade in one of the alleys. Flynn followed the sound, exquisitely aware he was unarmed. Every sane part of him told him to stop, go back, get his goddamn weapon. His feet kept moving, drawn to the sound and the possibility of answers. The sound of battle stopped with a familiar tone, wet, and the dreams of Yuri being stabbed over and over rushed back to Flynn with a force that made him stagger into the alley.

Yuri looked up at him, eyes unreadable in the moonlight as black ichor dripped off his sword. The assassin lay at his feet, still twitching in its death throes. Not the first time Yuri had killed someone, he knew - there was Ragou, Cumore, the maid - but the substance that flowed off the steel of his sword was not blood, that he knew. Flynn was torn between looking at Yuri and the dying assassin, and finally took a step forward towards Yuri.

And punched him once. Hard. In the face.

Yuri took it, working his jaw and rubbing it with his free hand. Then, with a creaking voice, as if it hadn't been used in two years, "Hell of a welcome, Flynn."

It was the voice that told him that it was real. That he wasn't hallucinating, that he wasn't dreaming, that this was really Yuri. Flynn punched him again, this time Yuri weaving out of the blow. "You could have let us know you were still alive," he hissed, his throat tight with the betrayal of his best friend having hid himself for this long. He didn't miss the way Yuri's face changed at the words, but only continued. "Lady Estellise, Rita, Judith, Karol, Raven... Repede most of all. We all missed you." His fists tried to land on Yuri's body in repressed grief and anger, his best friend's agility just a bit better than the emotions.

Flynn didn't know when he had rushed Yuri, grabbing him by the shoulders. Or when he slammed his lips against the other man's, fighting for comfort in the dominance there. But suddenly he was kissing Yuri, backing him against the wall. There was a clatter as Yuri dropped his sword, hands coming up to cup Flynn's head as he fought back into the kiss. The blond's hands slid up into the long ragged hair as he leaned his body flush against his best friend's, breathing heavily into the kiss. At some point, Yuri reached behind him and grabbed Flynn's hands, turning so Flynn was the one with his back against the stone wall and his wrists were caught in one of Yuri's hands. The other wandered down Flynn's chest, reaching under the shirt he wore and brushing lightly over stiffening nipples. He inhaled sharply against Yuri's lips as those cold fingers tweaked one, hands curling. He didn't really know what he was doing at this moment other than what his body demanded of him, need beating hard in his veins. Yuri's hand slid his belt off and worked his pants down his hips just enough to pull his erection free, causing Flynn to groan with the sensation. He had masturbated before, certainly, but this was different. It was different to have his hands pinned above him as another stroked him, using a rhythm he was entirely unused to and yet set his blood to singing. It was different to have lips caress his cheek and ear as the hand worked on him, nipping in a weak parody of the bite that had cause the odd pain and awful pleasure before.

And it was different to cede to another, tilting his head to allow access to his throat almost eagerly as Yuri's hand sped along his flesh. Flynn allowed it, wanting more. He couldn't name what he wanted, not yet. But as Yuri's hand tightened on him, moving even faster, his teeth opening another set of wounds on his neck, the orgasm that overtook him told him he was one step closer to it. Yuri lifted his head, his lips bloody with a look of wonder and disbelief shadowed in his eyes. The two of them looked down at the mess, congealing on the bone white hand, then at each other.

Then Yuri pushed himself away, wiping his hand off and picking up his sword. Without a word, he walked briskly out of the alley, leaving Flynn to catch his breath and thoughts alone and bleeding. With shaking fingers, he tucking himself back into his pants and belted himself, then slid down the wall to a sitting position, his hands buried in his hair.

And there he stayed until a guard found him, almost daybreak.


	6. Chapter 6

"I should throw you into a cell next to Sodia," Ioder informed Flynn, fury written in every line of his lithe being. "After that stunt, you should be on trial after her. What in the world were you thinking?"

Flynn didn't even bother to raise his head, still looking at the floor of the audience hall as he knelt. Certainly, he could explain what he saw. An assassin that had merged from two beings into one, and his dead best friend that had saved his life. He could detail how he saw them fighting across the courtyard, and the indescribable need to follow them. How, when he came upon the final result, that the assassin was already dead with inhuman blood dripping off Yuri's blade. A wild giggle caught in his throat as he considered the possibility of telling Ioder about the aftermath, of the one-sided fistfight with Yuri and the delicious hand stroking him afterwards, from a man he had never looked at that way before. He had never even thought about it before from anyone, much less men, and yet having an orgasm wrung from him seemed to fit coming from Yuri. Flynn shook his head, wetting his lips. "I don't know."

Ioder was silent for a moment, making Flynn wonder what he was thinking. Did he realize Flynn was lying and there was more to the story that he wasn't telling him? Well, that had to be obvious. Was he considering clapping him in chains right now and hauling him away to prison? His stomach turned uneasily at that thought. There would be nobles about the castle this time of the day. They would see that, and their opinion of the Commandant would fall even more. A part of him whispered if they weren't wrong, and he clenched his hands. Given what he had seen was frankly impossible and that no one else had seen Yuri, Flynn was starting to wonder if perhaps they were right, and he was slowly going insane. Even the best armor, tended to lovingly over the years, will break if used in constant battle. A repressed shudder coursed through Flynn at the thought. Finally, Ioder spoke. "I should haul you down to the prison in chains," he said, almost coldly. "But I won't. I don't know what you're thinking, and right now, it'd reflect even poorly on us if our Commandant, the hero of the realm that helped stop the disaster that was the Adephagos, was also thrown in jail." Flynn's head lowered further at that, knowing what Ioder was saying. He had done so much for Zaphias. For the world. For everybody. It would undermine everything he had done if he suddenly cracked now. "But I can't let you do this again. As of right now, you will be confined to your room until after the execution, at which time we will decide what we will do with you. A guard will be in your room with you at all times."

Flynn nodded, not bothering to raise his head. "I understand," he murmured. There was really little else he could say. He had no proof otherwise about what had transpired. And even still, he had broken not just Ioder's trust, but the trust of his men by sneaking out like that. This was his punishment. He waited for Ioder to continue or to dismiss him.

"Flynn?" Something in Ioder's voice made him raise his head for the first time. "My cousin... is she okay?"

Estellise. The memory of her enraptured face looking up at Lady Catherine's tightly controlled mien as she was ushered away came back to him, and Flynn just nodded. "She is," he whispered. She would be away from him, away from the intrigue and attacks that plagued him. She didn't need to be wrapped up in something like this again.

"Good." Ioder lifted his voice. "You are dismissed."

Flynn nodded wordlessly, standing to leave. The guards fell in to walk with him, warding him as they took him back to his room. No one spoke to him, and no one met his eyes as they marched. It might as well be to prison, he thought as he reached his door, for all the good it'd do him. The trial was in two days. The execution, if the trial went as planned, would be the day after. Flynn laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, a morbid thought coming to mind.

Would he even live long enough to see after the execution of his loyal second in command?

* * *

He had no idea when he nodded off, but Flynn was suddenly roused out of sleep by a querulous voice. A familiar one, female and young. He sat up slowly, looking at the guard unsheathing his sword by his door, trying to place the voice.

"Well, you better let us in!" he heard, and suddenly smiled. "We're his friends, and we've saved his ass a couple of times."

"Yeah!" And yes, he recognized that one too. No longer preteen, now aging years through puberty and cracking with the effort. "Not to mention we saved the world!"

"And we've traveled a long way to see him." Her too? An enthusiastic "woof!" answered that, and Flynn went to go end this little circus act, nodding at his guard.

"It's okay," he told him. "They're friends." He opened the door, blinking as he realized that _everyone_ showed up. Of course, there was Rita, Karol, Judith, and Repede, but Raven as well? Flynn blinked, looking at the crew gathered before him, before finally getting out, "You are aware you won't all fit in my room, right?"

"Yo." Raven just grinned at him, one hand on his chin. "Don't worry. Some of us just came to say hi and skedaddle. Didn't want to visit the castle without visitin' our great Commandant Flynn and beautiful Estelle!"

Flynn sighed, knowing the former Captain Schwann was too shrewd not to know about what had happened. It was one of the noble's favorite gossip topics, after all, and he would still know about those kinds of things, even if Brave Vesperia did not. "You know I've been temporarily stripped of rank, Raven," he said quietly, ignoring Rita and Karol's protests at the revelation. "I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mock me."

"And why would I be mockin' ya?" Raven shot back, his gaze just as sharp as Flynn expected it to be despite his lazy speech. "Ya ain't gonna just lie back and take that. You'll fight tooth 'n' nail to get it back no matter what. So you're still Commandant to me. Where's our beautiful princess, anyway?" With that lecherous grin, he effortlessly changed the subject, looking around. "I woulda thought she would be here, comfortin' her favorite knight."

Rita's fists still were lightning fast, as Raven soon learned. "Pervert," she muttered under her breath as Karol still tried to puzzle out the secondary meaning behind his words and Judith calmly explained it to him with the air of detached amusement only a Krityan could have. "But he's right. Where is Estelle?"

"Safe," he told her succinctly. "There is a woman that has made friends with her. She won't be in the middle of any of this."

Her eyes widened considerably at that. "What?!" Rita roared loud enough to make most of the people around wince, Flynn included. "First off, Estelle is probably one of the more capable people to be here. She was guarding your sorry ass when you got poisoned, remember? And second, what woman? Ooh, I can't believe she would be so airheaded at a time like this!" With that, Rita stormed off, leaving a wake of dumbfounded looks and one knowing smile from Judith.

Raven heaved a heavy sigh soon after. "Well, I guess I better follow her," he declared dramatically. "Don't want too many guards to be traumatized, ya know?" The older man followed off after Rita, Judith following at a comfortable pace, looking at all the world that she was merely going the same way and yet it was obvious she was going to make sure he was going to be on his best behavior in the palace. In her own way, of course. That just left Karol and Repede, the latter who had just brushed past him without a care to circle in the middle of his floor and lay down, and the former was beaming at him.

"We're going to take turns watching you," Karol told him proudly, ignoring the sputtering protests of the guards. "Guess Raven got to talk to Ioder before we got here and they agreed on it. Not to mention we have a lot to catch up on. So what's this about losing your rank? What happened? We've heard some pretty nasty rumors coming out of Zaphias but they can't possibly be true."

Flynn sighed as he let him in, not able to see the flaw in it. As Rita pointed out, she and Estelle had done the job themselves when he had been poisoned, and done it better than the knights. And truth be told, he missed the company. His hand absently reached out to pet Repede's head as he started at the beginning, sitting and getting comfortable in the presence of the leader of Brave Vesperia.

It was a joy to talk to Karol, more so than Flynn had originally thought. The conversation soon turned to the future of Brave Vesperia and how the actions of the original three had brought prospective members knocking at their door. "I've actually had to turn some of them away," he said proudly, almost amazed that his guild was gaining so much popularity that he almost had too many people try to join. He had originally worried about the guild, and whether or not it would even last without Yuri. Repede seemed to only follow where Yuri was and no one knew if Judith would take him in and away. "Well, we were half right," Karol told him. "Judith's been taking care of Repede ever since... that. But they're still Brave Vesperia members!"

And so they continued, talking as shadows grew long and night covered the sky.

* * *

The only times Repede left Flynn's room was where there was a member of Brave Vesperia in it, and he always returned in quick order. Flynn found himself very thankful for that, as Repede course fur was a tactile constant under his fingers as he tried to keep himself together as the few days passed. He couldn't be sure, but he also thought that Repede was subtly smelling him each time, as if he could smell the traces of Yuri on his skin.

"Maybe he can," Judith told him, her hand almost absently wrapped around her polearm. She looked for all the world like she was lazily lounging about, but he could see how she was poised to spring into action at any moment, and how her hand was positioned to tip the point of her weapon right into the heart of any enemy. "They say a dog's sense of smell is much better than ours." Her eyes sharpened as his cheeks flushed, memory of a hand bringing him to climax flashing through him. "... hm."

Flynn suddenly felt a little ball of shame uncurl within him. It wasn't like having to tell Karol or Rita why he had been stripped of rank (and glossing over the reason behind the whispers), or any time talking with Raven. Who was part too shrewd and giving him good pointers for how to keep his head down until it was all over and part far too lecherous about the other women that had helped saved the world, especially Judith. No, she seemed to see right past the evasions, even if she didn't know was the truth really was. Raven probably had seen past it too, Flynn realized with a start, lowering his head, but had lived enough secrets to allow him his. "Yes?" he finally managed, as evenly as he could.

"Nothing," she said lightly. "I was just reminded of an old story I heard. If someone was on a journey that was great importance to them and they were killed violently, it was possible their body would continue on until they reached their destination or goal."

Flynn swallowed, his eyes widening. "You mean-"

"Estelle could tell you more about it," Judith told him. "But I remember there always being a price, and in the story I heard, it was an unending hunger for flesh." Her eyes cast over his neck, and he felt the urge to cover the healing wounds from her gaze. It hadn't been flesh Yuri had eaten, certainly, but so far this could be the explanation he was waiting for. It would mean that Yuri was truly dead, but it was a closer explanation than hallucination and alive but insane. He didn't need to tell her about what had happened; he knew she had heard. "But they're supposed to be mindless except for their goals."

Flynn did cover his bite marks at that time, a shiver running down his spine to pool between his legs as his palm brushed over the torn skin. No other time did an open wound like this cause such a reaction when touched, so why did these? Yuri had started to think. To hold himself back, and to talk to him. He realized he was blushing again as his thoughts wandered back to his pants sliding down his hips and what followed. Even still, even though what Judith said was closer than any other guess as to what was going on, it still didn't quite fit. Yuri thought. Yuri made decisions. Yuri spoke to him, for crying out loud. That wasn't mindless by any means.

Judith suddenly stood, long legs swinging as she stretched to her full height, a mischievous smile crossing her face. "Well, are you ready? It's time."

"Time? Time for what?" He looked at her, uncomprehending. What was she talking about?

"The execution, of course. You are coming with me, right?" She looked at him critically, almost piercing him with her eyes. "I would have thought you'd want to be there, after everything that happened."

Flynn raised an eyebrow at her. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly in His Majesty's best of graces right now," he told her mildly. "And he would notice if we went against his wishes and left my room for that."

She waved her hand as if to dismiss that. "Nevermind that. That's taken care of." Judith's gaze turned compassionate, knowing. "She's been by your side for a while, hasn't she? And he was your best friend when you were children. You wouldn't forgive yourself if you didn't see this through to the end."

For a moment, all Flynn could do was blink at her. Then, "How do you _do_ that?"

Judith merely smiled enigmatically. "Well?"

He looked around the room for a moment, then back at her. "Let's go."

* * *

The execution had started by the time they arrived, Sodia standing in front of a small crowd as tall and proud as she could while the charges against her were read in a clear voice. She had been given her uniform back, Flynn noticed. Her hair fair gleamed in the sunlight, obviously just cleaned. She looked like she had taken pains to die with as much dignity as she was allowed. The executioner stood behind her, axe resting but obviously more than ready to take her head. It was an uneasy sight, but as Judith had known, a necessary one. Off to one side stood the royals, Ioder and Estellise, as well as their guards and interestingly enough, Lady Catherine. Though, the death grip Estellise had on Lady Catherine's hand answered that. Executions like this weren't all that common, and this was the first one that Estellise had gone to that had involved a good friend of hers. Flynn noted she had a sword by her side and a shield on her arm, a questioning look going to Judith.

"After all that's happened, would you want to go unarmed if you weren't being punished for being bad?" she asked logically, and he gave her an unamused look at the last part. She only smiled at him, then turned her attention back to what was happening. Sodia was kneeling now, her back still straight and head still high. Her eyes roamed the crowd briefly, taking in who was there, seeing the knot of Brave Vesperia near the front, and met his in the back, widening in surprise. Flynn held them steadily, partially out of respect for the loyalty she had shown in the past and partially for not wanting to be the one to break the gaze first. And he wasn't, as she closed her eyes as as the axe as pulled back for a swing that would remove her head from her shoulders. There was a motion at the corner of his eye, and he looked over briefly at the old woman by his side, frowning as he noticed a gnarled hand fiddling with a cloth doll before turning his gaze back up to the execution.

The axe came down, arcing in a far too tight circle to take the head of one the royal guards. Long trained instinct caused Flynn to go for a sword that was not there as Judith's spear came down. Weapons of all sorts were drawn, then a knight attacked the executioner, limbs moving jerkily, almost like a puppet's. As if that was a signal, chaos suddenly reigned. One guard came for Judith and Flynn, his own polearm dipping low as his arms twitched as if on strings. Judith easily deflected the blows, her attention set on trying to figure out how to slide into his guard and knock him out. Despite being horribly easy to defend against, he could block Judith's attempts at the last second.

Flynn looked up at where Ioder and Estellise had been, noticing with rising dread that Estellise was defending her cousin and friend against one of the royal guard itself. While Rita had been correct and she was more than capable, Estellise was not in the same physical shape as a royal knight. Her strength came from her healing and aer manipulation, which she did not have time to do with a knight constantly bringing his sword down either on her, Ioder, or Lady Catherine. He had to get up there and wrestle that sword away from him. Something in the back of his head frowned and said he was missing something, but he ignored it as he started to push his way through the panicking crowd. People kept grabbing for his arms, trying to capture his attention and have him help them, but his gaze was on the royal family alone. One finally managed to grab his upper arm long enough to spin him slightly to one side, breaking his line of sight as a dagger was shoved into his stomach.

The pain was what broke Flynn's single-minded rush to protect the royal family. He had almost forgotten, in the heat of it all, that someone out there had been trying several times over to assassinate him. His hand came down to grab the dagger before it could be removed, keeping it there as he turned to look at this new assassin. Sodia looked back at him as she tried to yank the dagger out of him. Her hand twisted, breaking his grip as she pulled the weapon free, pulling it back just enough to ready for another strike. He grabbed her wrist with one hand and the opposite upper arm with his other, using all his strength just to stay upright and fight against her and the deep pain.

When they turned, twisting, something glinted in the sun. Flynn's eyes darted to it briefly, not sure what he saw. It could have been just her hair, or a spider web. Her hand shoved forward, trying to stab him and he saw it again, glinting towards her wrist. A quick glance to one side saw another strand, just as faint, on a puppeted soldier. With an effort, Flynn let go of her arm and reached behind her head, knowing he only got one chance at this and if he was wrong or he failed, he was dead.

There, gossamer light, feeling like strands of hair or spider silk. He swept his hand, hoping he got all the strands, and yanked towards him. Sodia suddenly jerked towards him and went very still, quivering slightly as his hand shook with the effort as he took the dagger from her, fitting it under the near invisible strands, and cut.

She sagged against him, the weight causing him to drop to his knees as he caught her. Sodia breathed out slowly as her head raised, looking up. "Sir? What..." Her eyes widened as she remembered, and her hands came down to press against the wound in an attempt to staunch the blood flow. "We should... get you off the field of battle," she said in a soft, almost guilty voice. "So you can get looked at."

"Estellise-" Flynn lifted his head, trying to find her in the thick of the mess when he caught sight of the crone he had seen before. The twisted figure had moved off to one side, but was still fiddling with the cloth doll. Something about that seemed... off. One of the arms moved, and a silvery thread wrapped around its wrist gleamed in the sunlight, as thin as hair. Sodia followed his line of sight, then turned back to him.

"Sir..." She paused, then took the arm that didn't have the dagger in hand across her shoulders, helping him to his feet. Flynn could tell she didn't understand the whys, that she never did understand some of the whys of what he did, but she did understand what he was going to do. This one, he was even less sure he was going to complete. The stomach wound, the fact he had never done anything like this before, much less at this kind of distance with a situation like this... but he had to try. He balanced the dagger in his hand, lifted it, and threw it as hard as he could at the doll in those gnarled hands.

He nearly missed. The point of the dagger caught the barest edge of the doll, tumbling it out those hands and scoring a bleeding scratch across the pad of a thumb. But the doll hit the ground, and the instant it did, all of those whose movements were puppeted by the thing were instantly halted. There was sudden silence in the wake of the end of fighting, then the crone tried to flee. All it took was a whistle of an arrow to warn him, and Judith and Repede were sauntering up to round up the assassin, Raven's arrow sticking out of the aged flesh.

Flynn sank back to his knees, unable to stand any longer, and Sodia went with him. Somehow, her hand had found his, gripping with a thoughtless might. They looked at their joined hands, and started to laugh, bitterly. It was all they could do at this time, despite how much it hurt Flynn to laugh, despite how insane it looked. Even in the middle of Sodia's own execution, they could still work together.

It was over.

* * *

A/N: No it's not. My notes say this is just chapter six of eight. Also, I have a writing Tumblr over at arenotsilent at tumblr . com, so give it a look. Some previews and fic talk.


	7. Chapter 7

How many times had it been now that Flynn had seen Estellise with blood on her hands as she patched up her friends? By now, the shiny red blood staining her gloves as she healed his stomach wound was just another countless tally. Her face was a serene mask as she concentrated on her First Aid, making sure she healed him correctly, then opened her eyes with a smile as she slowly withdrew. He reached out, taking her hands gently. "Thank you."

She shook her head. "It's fine, Flynn." Her hands squeezed his, silently thanking him back. "But, why were you here? Shouldn't you have been in your room?"

He sighed, and looked over at the knot of their friends, Brave Vesperia plus Raven and Rita. "That, you can blame Judith. She made quite a compelling argument for seeing it through to the end." He looked back at her, catching a knowing look in her eyes. It seemed everyone knew the two reasons for why he'd see it through to the end, though at least one was confirmed when they had come upon him and Sodia in the throes of their inexplicable bitter laughter, their hands laced firmly together. "You know this is going to change everything."

Estellise nodded, her head bowed. "Was... Sodia being controlled at Zaude too?" _Like I had been before then?_ hung in the air, and Flynn lifted a hand to cup her face. She started briefly, then smiled, sadly. "You're right. I shouldn't- Catherine's waiting for me."

"You're not going to see Rita before she leaves?" That seemed... off. Estellise hesitated, frowning a bit as she thought.

"I... yes, of course. I'm sorry, today's just been a really stressful day." She squeezed his hands one last time, standing. "I almost forgot Rita was here. I'll get Judith to take you back to your room. You need to rest, Flynn, okay?" With that, she let go of his hands and walked over to talk to Brave Vesperia. Seeing her, in her nobility dress and her hair pinned up like that, made Flynn realize that Estellise may have not seen her friends the entire time they were here. It made a little sense, given the circumstances of the trial, execution, and assassination attempts, but it made him uneasy to think about. She had been so isolated before Yuri had taken her out of the castle for the first time, and she was almost falling back into her isolation again. He felt ashamed that he hadn't helped that any, and resolved to take more time out of his day to talk with her when everything was settled. He noticed Rita starting to fuss over the blood on her gloves and winced at that as well, knowing it was his blood that stained her fingers. Flynn started to stand as Judith came over to him, and she easily helped him to his feet.

"Quite a throw," was all she said, her lips curved in an approving smile. Flynn nodded back to her, one hand over the deep ache over his healed wound. Estellise may have healed the wound itself, but the muscles around it still were taxed by what he did and were not shy about protesting it. Judith merely stood aside, and let him set the pace as they started walking back to his room. The walk was silent for a good long time, Flynn caught in his own thoughts and making sure he didn't overbalance and fall into her, before she spoke up. "Ioder isn't very happy about me bringing you to the execution, of course, but he's putting it aside. He's also pretty impressed by the throw. There's already people saying that Sodia was unfairly put on trial and being executed for something she had no control over, even though there's no proof whether or not she was being controlled even back then."

Of course. Flynn sighed, somehow not surprised. There was already a shadow of doubt that everything Sodia had done had been manipulated by another. The guilty verdict already handed down would be seen as premature and unfair. He wouldn't even be surprised if there were people starting to worship her as a type of hero, for being so brave while her actions were not her own. Flynn pressed his fingers to his eyes, starting to feel a headache form. "Anything else?"

"Nothing that can't wait for you to rest," Judith told him lightly, echoing Estellise's earlier words. He eyed her out of the corner of his eye, not amused by the babying they seemed to be heaping upon him, and she gave him a stern look in response. "There was another attempt on your life, again, and there are two reason I don't have to answer to you. One," here, she tapped him on the nose with a long finger, "I belong to a guild. And two, even if I didn't, you're still not the Commandant right now. You're just a man that's been running himself into the ground trying to figure out the answer to life, the universe, and everything and needs some rest for once. So as your friend, I say you need to go to your room and go to sleep now, and everything else will wait until you wake up."

Flynn opened his mouth, incensed by the implications, then closed it as he rested a hand over where the dagger had slid into him. It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel drained after today, and that the culmaltive days of investigation, assassination attempts, and a strange sexual encounter with his childhood best friend had only made it worse. They were right; by this time, he was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. "Tomorrow morning," he warned her.

"If you wake up bright and early tomorrow morning, Rita's putting you right back to sleep," she warned him back, deadly serious. He stared at her for a moment before realizing she was not hiding a deeper level of amusement in those words. If he looked, he could see a glimmer of concern in her eyes, a worry that he was going to burn himself out. Flynn had to look away at that, feeling ashamed that he had put that concern there. The friend thing went both ways, he realized. She may worry about him and his state of being, but he worried about her. About all of them, and he shouldn't have made them worry about him like that. He nodded, understanding what she was saying, and continued down the hall.

Before they reached his room, a door opened, allowing a knight to spill out. His armor looked as if it had been hastily pulled on, and there was a glazed, satisfied look to his eyes as well as an indecent red mark on his neck. There was absolutely no mistaking what had just happened. Flynn opened his mouth to reprimand him when Judith reached out to pinch his elbow, shaking her head. He was off duty right now, just a man in need of rest. He closed his mouth again, letting the knight pass as he noticed Judith curiously peering into the door, following her gaze.

Lady Catherine looked back at them, clad only in a dressing gown half off her shoulders. Flynn hadn't known until then that her hair fell halfway down her back in dark waves, as it had usually been caught up at the nape of her neck. She radiated satisfaction, but in a different way than the knight that uneased Flynn. He knew that she had been taken back to her room as soon as the crone had been taken into custody, but that had been rather... fast of her. Lady Catherine's dark lips curled in an indecipherable smile, her hand easing the door closed.

"She's very pretty," Judith commented, causing Flynn to blink and look at her. There was a strange look on her face, almost as if she had seen something that interested her and, at the same time, made her wary. "That's the woman Estelle's been with since we've arrived, correct? I can see why Rita's jealous of her."

"She's been a good friend for Estellise," he replied, not sure why he felt he needed to defend the woman.

"I never said she wasn't," she said mildly. "Just that she's very pretty." Judith started to walk again, leaving Flynn to follow her, his head clouded with his own thoughts about what Estellise's relationship with Lady Catherine could mean for her relationship with Rita.

* * *

Rita had probably guessed, as had Judith and the rest of his friends, that he would only wake the following day a few times for food and to use the bathroom. Each time Flynn had tried to do anything else, such as sit down to read or do any paperwork, his eyes would refuse to focus and he would start yawning, forcing him back to bed. It felt far too indulgent, but he wouldn't deny that if he was sleeping like this, he probably needed it. When he opened his eyes again, night had covered the sky and he was alone. It was odd, but he had seen people in and out of his room when he was awake during the day. This was probably another lull before someone came in to check in on him. Slowly, he stood up, going to his window and testing it - yes, it was locked from the inside.

"I really hope you're not thinking about being stupid and making another run for it," came a weary voice from behind him, and then "-damn it, ow!" Flynn turned, seeing Rita struggle with a tray laden with a steaming teapot and cups and trying to close the door at the same time. He came over, taking the tray from her. "Thank you. If you are, I'd be more than willing to tie your ass up."

He had to smile at that. "No, I'm not. I was only testing the defenses." He put the tray down on the table, then turned to her. "I assume you're my guard for this evening?"

"Actually, I'm not. I'm needed elsewhere tonight. But I didn't trust anyone else to bring this to you unaltered." He raised an eyebrow at that, and she gave him a grim smile. "Yeah. It's one of those kind of nights. Don't worry, I made this myself from my own stores. It's too hot to drink now, but give it a few minutes and it should be fine."

"And what's in it?" It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but after what had happened, Flynn was starting to be wary of what he was given. She snorted, pulling out a vial.

"Valerian root," she said simply, passing it over. "I make it sometimes for myself and I had a feeling you'd be up- well, later than this, but soon. Don't give me that look; I brewed it myself." Flynn continued to give her a skeptical look, giving her the vial back. He knew valerian tea was used as a sleep aid, and after the poisoning attempt, he was uneasy about putting anything in his body that would make him drowsy. "Trust me, I know how to make a relaxing tea."

He continued giving her a flat look, but eventually sighed. Even if he thought about it, he was hard pressed to come up with someone that had won a force of will contest against Rita Mordio. She was as much a force of nature as what she used to wield with her blastia. "Later," he told her, raising a finger. "Like you said, it's too hot to drink now." He ignored her triumphant look, instead asking her, "What is it that you're needed for tonight?"

"Oh damn. Nearly got caught up talking to you. Actually, I need to go now." Before Flynn could stop her, she spun on her heels, yanking the door open. "And make sure you drink that tea!" she shouted over her shoulder as she left, causing one guard posted by his door to suddenly jump at her outburst. He could only shake his head at that, watching the door close behind her. A bit of paranoia made him lock it as well. It would make it harder for the guards outside his door to come in if something went wrong, but he doubted it would. The window was locked, and he didn't think Rita was going to poison him.

Flynn went to his desk, intent on at least working on some paperwork if he was going to be up. His hands picked up a quill, tested the nib... and shook. He looked at them, swallowing. It wasn't as if near brushes with death were new to him. As a knight, he had faced them quite often. He couldn't recall how many times he had come close to dying as they went to stop Alexei, to save the world. But... he curled his hands, as if that would make them stop shaking. But it had never been personal. It had never been aimed personally at him like this. Before, he had been part of a group in the way. Now, he was personally being targeted, and he didn't know why. He didn't know who put the price on his head. And he wanted to know. He didn't want to be cooped up like this, even if it was to keep him alive. He didn't want to suspect everyone, even his own friends. He wanted it over with, the criminal that wanted him dead caught. Flynn realized he had stood and was pacing, forcibly making himself stop in his tracks. He had to calm down. Nothing was going to be done like this.

There was movement outside his window. Slowly, Flynn moved towards where his sword hung, trusting more to arm himself faster than to unlock the door and alert the guards before anything happened. He pulled the sword free as quietly as he could, keeping his eyes on the window. There was a shape there, one he could almost make out in the moonlight. It was human, that much was obvious. Oddly enough, it looked like it was just... lounging there. He looked closer, then stopped.

One of Yuri's legs was dangling carelessly off the branch, just like when he had rested while climbing trees when they were children. The sword he was now using was tucked in the crook of his arm as he leaned against the trunk, his gaze out across the courtyard. Flynn started to walk towards the window, slowly, realizing Yuri had picked a good spot. No one was going to be able to see him there, and he had a good view of the area around Flynn's room. He stood by the window, looking at Yuri's form at deceptive guard outside, his hand rising to the lock as Yuri's eyes turned to meet his. They stared at each other for a long moment - Flynn hadn't forgotten the monsters, the pets, the maid, or the bites on his own throat. But... Judith's words came back to him. What was going on? Was Judith's story true? He could let Yuri sit out there, force him to go away... or...

His hand slowly unlatched the window and let it swing open as he stepped aside, letting his best friend in. Yuri paused for a moment, and Flynn nearly shut the window at his hesitation, thinking the entire thing foolish. But he did finally swing through the threshold, sitting on the sill, his sword's stays wrapped around his fist per usual. "Hey, Flynn."

"Yuri." He inclined his head in greeting. All of his body itched to ask questions - what was he doing out there, what was he looking for, what was going on, what _was_ he - but all he said was, "Good evening."

Yuri gave him a strange look, then chuckled, keeping his voice soft. "You know that'd sound a lot better if you didn't have a naked sword in your hand." He laughed again as Flynn started and went to sheath his sword. "But yeah. Hi to you too and all that." He looked over his shoulder, as if he was expecting someone to be there.

Flynn frowned. "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Hm? Didn't you hear? Damn assassin you caught was found dead in her cell a few hours ago." Yuri looked back at him, his eyes serious. "Security's not as tight around you as it could be. Hell, if you could let me in..."

"I get it," Flynn muttered, thinking. Someone was covering their tracks. There was a distinct possibility the assassin was told to kill herself if caught, or there was a mole in the guards that slipped into her cell and finished the job before she could speak. "How was it done?"

"Don't know," was the prompt reply and Flynn was surprised at how relieved he felt at not being told he would be told later. "All I know is that there wasn't a weapon involved. You don't get to interrogate a lot of guards about a murder when you're presumed dead," he finished wryly.

The pressure inside him to talk about it erupted. "But you're not!" Flynn gestured at him as Yuri winced, not sure if it was at the words or the volume. He lowered his tone, continuing, "You're not dead. You're here, talking to me. Walking, talking, thinking-"

Yuri stood, covering Flynn's mouth with his free hand. "Don't," he told him, intense. "Just... you really don't want to know."

His hand felt like ice. The sleeve brushed over the healing wounds and he shivered, his breath coming hard against Yuri's hand. His eyes narrowed a bit at that, almost predatory as he moved his hand, cupping Flynn's neck as he moved closer, pulling him so they would match nose to nose. Flynn licked his lips, and said, "If you're trying to distract me-"

"Is it working?" Yuri's voice held the smirk more than his own lips. Flynn didn't know who bridged the gap first, but his retort was swallowed as they kissed, the hand on his throat moving to slide up to his hair. Flynn mirrored him, awkwardly cupping Yuri's jaw with one hand. Dimly, he heard Yuri drop his sword onto the nearby chair, but the only thing that meant was his sword hand was creeping up under his shirt, snaking around to to pull him even closer. He slid his other hand up through Yuri's hair, grunting a little as they got tangled in the long locks. How did Yuri manage to take care of his hair, anyway?

The question flew out of his head as Yuri's head dipped, his tongue flicking out to trace Flynn's jaw and the very edge of the uppermost bite mark. He gasped, his hands gripping the dark hair tightly as the tip of that tongue lightly flicked over the bites, teasing him. One hand released Yuri's head, dropping to grip his shirt in the similar vise, his hips canting towards Yuri's, barely brushing against him. Flynn greedily accepted another kiss as Yuri lifted his head, breaking only when those icy hands pulled his shirt over his head, taking the time to divulge Yuri of the same. Once done, Yuri almost savagely yanked Flynn's head back to him, kissing him deeply. Flynn's arms wrapped around his friend's waist, trying to pull him closer, but instead he was pulled in a different direction. It was an awkward shuffle as they refused to part, but eventually he felt where Yuri was trying to lead him. The mattress of his bed hit the back of his knees and he had to break the kiss again to look behind him, confused only long enough until sight told him what he had felt.

And then nervousness took over. He hadn't ever asked Yuri if he had sex with men - the question had never crossed his mind, and if it had, he figured it was none of his business - but it was obvious that was where it was going. Yuri looked like he had confidence in what he was doing, but Flynn had absolutely none. This was not something they covered when becoming a knight, and most knights interested in their own gender tended to keep it quiet. But Yuri only smirked at him, guiding him to lie down. "Still a virgin, huh?" he murmured, kneeling on top and nipping at the unmarked side of his throat. "I would have thought Sodia would have rid you of that pesky thing."

"Sodia?" Flynn's stomach ached in memory. "Why would you-?" He groaned as Yuri switched sides, the silvery sharp feeling racing through his veins.

"... you really didn't know?" Yuri lifted his head, looking at him. "Heh. She's madly in love with you." He went back to his task, not giving Flynn time to even consider what he had just heard. Not that it mattered - he had never even looked at her that way. He had never looked at anyone that way before, male or female. Yuri... he was still trying to understand, still on the edge of getting why this felt right. He felt Yuri's hand on his pants, and his lips at his ear. "Just lift your hips," he whispered. "Don't worry, I know what to do."

That wasn't exactly a confirmation, but it was close enough that Flynn was confident enough to think that yes, Yuri had found a man at some point and slept with him. Perhaps more than once or more than one. It was uncomfortable, knowing he was completely ignorant in the hands of someone far more experienced. But he lifted his hips, letting Yuri strip him bare and exposed. He felt awkward, especially since Yuri still had his pants on and his very hard erection was very visible, but the hungry look and eager hand wrapping around him soon proved he needn't bother feeling that way. He gasped as his fingers twisted in the bed sheets, hips bucking as the hand started moving, slowly, Yuri's head moving down to trail kisses across his collarbone and further, tongue flicking across sweating skin until it reached his chest. There, it traced muscle until it reached the outer edge of a hardening nipple, teasing again as he barely touched it with the tip of his tongue. He squirmed as Yuri flicked his tongue against the nub, hand stroking him barely at any speed. It was torture, as he worried gently at the nipple with those teeth, bringing memories of how easily they could deliciously open flesh. Flynn found himself opening his legs, letting Yuri settle between them as he started tracing a path down across his stomach with his mouth. He felt himself tense as that mouth reached the hair growing between his legs, part out of anticipation of what it would feel like as it went lower and part out of remembrance of what those teeth could do. But instead, Yuri lifted his head, looking at Flynn with barely human eyes. "Do you have any Gels or Gel Bases?"

"Mm?" Flynn gave him a confused look, but gestured to where his med kit was. He saw the smirk on Yuri's face as he slid off the bed, not needing to him crack a joke about how he was still always prepared to hear it. Flynn sat up as he came back, holding the Gel Base with a thoughtful frown. "What's wrong? I thought you knew what you were doing."

Yuri snorted, sitting down and elbowing him. "Shut up. Here, hold this." He handed the Gel Base to Flynn, and proceeded to take off his boots and pants, stripping himself down to the same level of complete nudity as Flynn. "Open it and coat your fingers," he instructed, a sly smile on his face as he moved on the bed, hands and knees, face down. Flynn followed through, puzzled still, when Yuri said, "Start with one finger, your middle one. Right up the ass."

And then it hit him what Yuri was leading him towards, and he felt himself flush. "Doesn't that-"

"If you don't start lubing me up with that Gel Base it will," Yuri retorted. Flynn noticed his hands were clenched tightly on the sheets, and he reached out with his clean hand, resting it against his back. "For- don't treat me like a glass doll!" His head whipped around, glaring at Flynn as he raised the hand back, palm up. His eyes stayed on Flynn's as he slowly slid his finger into Yuri, only breaking once he started rocking his hand in a rhythm similar to what he knew was to come. Yuri lowered his head, groaning in a way that half ended in a growl. It was a sight that made his breath come even faster, made him want to take his finger out and skip right to the end. But no, he waited, listening to Yuri growl as his finger thrust and explored. Finally, "Add a second finger" was growled out, and Flynn obeyed without any hesitation. Yuri's hips rolled into the new intrusion happily, his hands flexing on the sheets as the two fingers moved inside him. Flynn didn't have to have Yuri tell him when it was time to add a third; when his legs opened even further, he pulled his fingers back enough to slide another in, making him snarl and moan. The sight made him rest his head against Yuri's hip, breath hot against his skin.

"How many more?" he asked, breathless. He thought before that chilled mouth on his skin while his hand stroked his erection slowly was torture, no, this was torture. Watching Yuri writhe and groan in pleasure like that, wanting to share in it and unable to do so.

Yuri paused, then shook his head as if clearing it. "Make sure you have some on yourself first," he said, voice rough. "Otherwise you're just teasing me and not actually- _fuck!_" The word came out on a strangled growl as Flynn scrambled to comply, spreading the last of the Gel Base on his erection before guiding it into Yuri.

It felt... like nothing he had ever considered. Tighter than his or Yuri's fist, that was for certain. Cooler than he expected, but it gripped him completely. It wasn't as easy as he thought to slide in, taking small thrusts with breaks before he was completely seated. But the pressure, oh... Flynn closed his eyes, his hands tightening on Yuri's hips. That was amazing.

"Not a glass doll," came the growled reminder, and Flynn snapped out of his reverie. He nodded, as if to remind himself of that, and started moving, the same rolling motion his fingers had been providing. Yuri groaned, his head lowering. "That means faster, damn it."

Something about Yuri setting the pace even now amused Flynn, but he wisely didn't show it and merely sped up. It was a little strange and tiring, using muscles in ways they hadn't been used before, and he could feel himself trembling on the edge of an orgasm already. But at the same time, it didn't feel right. Not time. He couldn't come yet, not like this. He slowed and leaned over, kissing Yuri's back as the dark haired swordsman growled at that. "Roll over," Flynn murmured, slowly pulling out and guiding him to the right position. Yuri resisted, nearly fighting him, but eventually rolled onto his back. Flynn smiled, kissing him before reaching down to continue on.

It was more awkward this way. Yuri had to tilt his hips in an odd way that pushed Flynn back, and he had to stretch to kiss him while inside Yuri. But it felt more right, to see Yuri's face while doing this. He could watch the play of pleasure, could see how his face changed when a small shift of his hips caught that spot inside of him. He could see everything. He could see how Yuri's face became less and less human, less aware. Less alive. He could see the moment the monster that had killed surfaced, and then cold hands tumbled him backwards. Then his teeth ripped into his throat again as his body pinned him against his own bed. Bizarrely, the only thing Flynn could think was he had slipped out of Yuri, and was now trapped between his legs. His hips rolled as the painfully pleasurable feeling ran through him, panting as he realized he was rubbing against Yuri's thighs, one hand coming up to grip that dark hair of Yuri's as he came. It felt like an explosion, harder than anything he had ever felt before.

When he finally came back to himself, Yuri was still drinking at his throat. Flynn pushed at him, grunting, and Yuri grabbed the wrist to force it back down, pinning him. A small thread of panic thrummed through him as he wrapped his legs around Yuri and forcibly rolled him over, this time pinning his best friend and breaking the seal of the mouth at his neck. Yuri snapped at him briefly, then awareness flickered in his eyes. With that came guilt, and shame. Flynn felt the urge to lean down, to give him a kiss at that. He was on the edge of figuring it out, of why this, this sex, this kind of relationship was something he wanted-

_If you figure it out, it will kill you._

It was the little sane voice, the one that had told him before to turn back. To arm himself. To not sneak out. To not do half the things he had already done. This time, these words hit him as if it was a bucket of ice cold water, sobering. Yuri looked up at him, his face the echo of the same realization. Slowly, Flynn climbed off him, letting him sit up.

"I should go," Yuri finally said softly. "You'll be checked in on soon." He stood slowly, though without pain Flynn noticed, and started getting dressed. Something occurred to him, and he reached out to Yuri, stopping him before he could pull his pants up completely.

"Did you...?" It was an odd thought, but he didn't remember Yuri having an erection. At all. Yuri didn't look at him, then finished pulling up his pants. The rest of his clothes went back on, then he looked at Flynn with hard eyes. He looked back, then reached out, pressing two fingers to the side of Yuri's neck.

Nothing.

Flynn's hand shook as he lowered it, his stomach starting to roll as he looked at Yuri, at the blood smearing his lips. Those lips just quirked in a humorless smirk. "I told you," he said. "You really don't want to know." And with those words, he grabbed his sword and jumped out the window. Flynn only sat back down on his bed, ignoring the mess as the implications of what just happened started to build in his head.

* * *

The next day seemed almost scarily normal. Rita came to visit in the morning, the bags under her eyes testament to the lack of sleep she had gotten, and proceeded to give him a dressing down for not drinking her tea. After what had happened with Yuri and the blood loss, he had passed out after treating the new bite at his neck without needing it. He did managed to get quite a bit of paperwork done, throwing himself into as much as he could to try to not think about last night and what had happened. What it meant. What the lack of a pulse meant for what he did.

A knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. "Come in," he called, thinking it to be Estellise. Most of the others would have barged right in, and the knights had a much more... imposing knock than that. He stood as Lady Catherine entered instead, surprised. "My Lady," he greeted, bowing.

"Flynn," she returned, her nose twitching for a moment. She closed the door behind her silently, then stood before him with her gloved hands clasped loosely. "I came to see how you were doing, what, with what happened yesterday and last night."

Estellise must have been very worried about him, he realized. Talking about him so much to her friend that she came to check up on him. "I'm fine. I have utter faith that we will find out what has happened to the assassin."

"Mm. Yes, my Spinneret. I was rather displeased when you found her out." Her dark eyes caught on his as comprehension dawned, and her body twisted with a powerful punch to his jaw just as he drew breath to alert the guards. "I wouldn't if I were you, Flynn." Her voice dropped the cultured tones, thought was still as melodic as ever. It was disturbing to hear, a lowborn voice that one wanted to hear more, craved to hear. He straightened, throwing his own punch at her as he did, only to be caught by a hand far too strong for her slight frame. She smiled, and for once he could see all her teeth. All of her razor sharp teeth, gleaming white in a row. His eyes widened as he realized there were more pieces of the puzzle he hadn't even thought of yet. "If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself, huh?" she asked rhetorically, then grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him against the wall, kissing him forcefully.

It was nothing like Yuri. It was a mere press of lips, then a slight inhale on her part. Then... it felt like his lips went cold and numb, parting slightly. She took advantage of that, deepening the kiss, inhaling again. With each inhale, he felt slightly more dizzy, relaxing slightly more into the kiss. He curled his hands, realizing dimly he couldn't feel his fingertips. If this went on much longer, he wouldn't be able to stand much longer.

Suddenly, she broke the kiss. Flynn looked down at her, trying to understand what was going on. Catherine coughed, black blood running down her chin as she looked down herself, at the blade protruding between her breasts and scratching his torso. The sword was viciously yanked back and she collapsed to her knees, leaving a furious Yuri to glare down at her. The two men looked at each other, and Flynn nearly fell before Yuri caught him, taking him away from the fallen woman. "Where did you...?" he started weakly.

He should have guessed ending that wouldn't have been that easy. Not after feeling after strong Catherine was, after seeing her teeth, that deadly kiss. A laugh cut him off as Catherine stood uneasily, reaching down to rip slits in the bottom of her dress. "Did you really think that would kill me, vampire?" she mocked, Yuri's eyes narrowing at her. "Yes, I know what you are. I even know who you are." Under her dress were not the heels noble women favored, but boots much like Yuri's and thigh holsters for knives. She pulled free the knives, pressing her lips to the blade of one. "What was your goal, Yuri Lowell? Protecting him?" She snorted. "You're wasting your death if that's the case." With those words, she dashed forward, striking with the knives. Yuri blocked awkwardly, still trying to hold Flynn up. Catherine only grinned at that, sweeping a leg to connect with Yuri's side. At that, Flynn broke away from Yuri's hold. Neither of them would be able to fight like this, and both were needed. He was starting to regain feeling in his hands as he picked up his sword, though he wondered. They were making a lot of noise with the clash of blades and bodies. Where were the guards?

Catherine laughed merrily as her blade caught Yuri's, pushing it aside. "Maybe if you were a hundred years older," she taunted.

"Is that how old you are?" Yuri said back, sweetly. "I'm sorry, I mistook you for two hundred."

Instead of being incensed, she merely laughed again. "How flattering." She twisted, dodging a swing and brought one knife up in an arc. Yuri tried to dodge that one, stumbling backwards a few steps as she pressed her advantage. Flynn wrapped his nearly numb hands around his sword when-

"Catherine! Flynn! Y... yuri?" Estellise stood in the doorway to his room, unarmed, one hand to her mouth. Shock, dismay, disbelief, hope... it all played out on her face. Flynn looked at Catherine's face, seeing her instantly put the courtly lady mask back on, her "Estellise's best friend" mask.

"Lady Estellise, Catherine is behind the assassinations," he said grimly before she could say a word. Estellise turned to him, intent on disbelieving him at first, when he saw Catherine sheath one knife then remove the glove of the free hand with her teeth, dropping it onto the floor. Lightning fast, she darted at Estellise, hand out. She started to back up, a chant for Photon coming to her lips as Yuri intercepted Catherine, keeping her busy as Estellise chanted. Flynn rushed in as well, distracting her when Yuri was batted aside. He heard the last of the chant as Catherine reached out suddenly, the Photon being cast just as her bare fingers brushed Estellise's cheek.

And Catherine shrieked, throwing herself backwards away from Estellise. The scent of burnt skin followed her, and Flynn felt relieved. She did have a weakness. "That was it, Estellise!" he urged her, sparing a moment to look at her. And then wish he didn't, as he was met with a stony, blank look. He looked back at the woman, who was making her escape out his window. He made a movement towards following her, then was stopped by Yuri, who shook his head.

"Stay with Estelle," he said in a low voice. "I'll follow the hypno demon bitch." With those words, he jumped out the window, following after Catherine. Flynn turned to Estellise, who was swaying on her feet.

"Estellise." His voice was soft, urging. "Estellise, can you hear me? Estellise?" Flynn put his sword down, reaching out to take her shoulders gently. "Estellise." Nothing. Not even a flicker. He shook her a little and she gasped suddenly, looking up with him with aware eyes. "Estellise?"

"F-Flynn?" She looked past him to his room, then back up at him. "Flynn, what happened? Catherine, what... was that... Yuri? I- I-" Words became impossible for her as she started sobbing, the implication of everything that had happened to her crashing down on her. The fact that someone had played inside her head again, and had effortlessly puppeted her like that without her knowledge. Flynn pulled her close as she cried, trying not to think about it himself. He smoothed her hair when her crying started to quiet, not letting her go until she indicated otherwise.

"Estellise," he murmured, "why did you come to visit right now?"

She was quiet for a moment, then "I heard something. And all the guards... none of them responded. They just... ignored it." What she said and the tone in her voice made chills run down his spine. Both of them knew. Catherine had gotten into more heads than they had imagined. But... how? Estellise pulled away, rubbing the proof of tears away from her face. "We have work to do," she said firmly. "Commandant Flynn." He opened his mouth, but her finger in his face halted that. "You'll need your rank for this. So as a member of the royal family, I hearby bestow the rank of Commandant back to you. Ioder can bring it up with me later." She smiled at the slightly pained look on his face, then turned the finger to an outstretched hand. "Will you help me with this?"

It was a bigger question than that. She was pushing the problem off to help others, but he knew about the one inside her. The seed of doubt that her actions wouldn't be her own. She wanted Flynn's help finding those affected, helping them, subduing them. Even her. Especially her.

With one hand to his chest, he bowed. "Of course I will."


	8. Chapter 8

Estellise's slim form cut easily through the usual milling nobles, leaving a wake of gossiping murmurs as she and an armored Flynn passed by. Neither of them bothered to even look at any of them as they walked, wrapping dignity around themselves among the noise. Flynn could hear them speculating about why he was in full Commandant regalia, and he ignored them, focusing solely on the woman boldly walking in front of him. She stopped in front of a door, turning to look at him. "Do you know who's been affected?" she asked, quietly.

He shook his head, frowning. "I can only hazard a guess. I saw a guard leave her room after the insanity at the execution, so I wouldn't trust any of the knights seen in her presence."

She blushed at that. "Catherine was... I don't know everyone she had..." Her hands gestured vaguely, and it occurred to Flynn that perhaps the only knowledge she had of such things would be purely academic. She might have intellectually known that her friend was rather promiscuous, but it wouldn't have occurred to her what it really meant. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Estellise. Had she...?"

The blush deepened, and she looked down at her hands. "L-let's go talk to Ioder now!" she announced, her pitch and volume slightly high. Flynn felt anger rise at that, at the unsaid fact that Catherine had twisted Estellise's mind like that too. He wanted to ask how far she had gone, if she had taken more innocence than she should have, but he reined himself in. Now was not the time. They needed to speak with Ioder, to tell him about Catherine. About what she had done, and the danger it posed. Estellise turned back to the door and knocked, waiting patiently until the door was opened. "I am Princess Estellise Sidos Heurassein, and I am here to see my cousin, Emperor Ioder Argylos Heurassein," she said in a clear voice, and only those listening hard could hear the slight waver. "Commandant Flynn Scifo accompanies me."

The guard at the door started slightly, looking past her at to Flynn's stony mien, to his Commandant armor. "What have you done, My Lady?" he whispered, looking back at Estellise with wide eyes. She drew herself up even further as if offended, and the guard cleared his throat, opening the door further. "Of course."

Where Estellise had led him to seemed to be Ioder's study. He looked up from the documents he was immersed in immediately at his cousin's name, joy suffused on his tired face, but it was tempered when Flynn's full title was announced. "Cousin," he said, standing. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Estellise turned to Flynn, nodding to him. He stepped forward, hand over his heart as he bowed. "Your Majesty," he started. "We have grave news. May we speak in private?" Ioder raised an eyebrow at that, but dismissed all but his personal guards. Flynn eyed them, but couldn't place if he had ever seen them with Catherine or not. They were supposedly loyal to the Crown alone, so he would assume they would be safe to have there, but it was still a risk. He looked at Estellise, seeing the same thoughts playing over her face, and a resolution. They'd have to take the risk. He turned back to Ioder. "Lady Catherine d'Amante attacked me earlier today, tried to kill Lady Estellise and me, and revealed herself as the one behind at least one of the attempts on my life."

That made Ioder blink, surprised. He looked between the two of them, realizing they were deadly serious. Flynn didn't blame him. Catherine had not only seemingly made Estellise so happy, been such a good friend for her, but she didn't seem like she could attack anyone. She had been so wispy, her body structure looking not at all like she had been trained to fight. He should have realized it, though, through the way she moved. Pure elegance, yes, but in his memory he could see how she held herself, poised to fight at a moments notice. Behind Ioder, his guards frowned, turning to each other and whispering. More than likely talking about how unlikely it was that an untrained noble lady would be an assassin herself and have tried to kill a hero of the realm. Flynn lifted his head slightly as he noticed one wasn't taking part, but rather had his head lowered slightly. He had just opened his mouth to say something when the guard suddenly unsheathed his sword, swinging at Ioder with a terrible blank expression. In an instant, Flynn and the other guards had their swords out and were advancing, but they would be too late-

And Estellise dove into the path of the blade, her arms outstretched to protect her cousin. Almost instantly, the sword stopped, the edge of the blade quivering mere inches near her throat. Flynn could see the terrified expression on her face as she stared at the guard, but he never moved. He never completed the swing. The other guards proceeded to disarm him, wrestling him to the ground, and Flynn knocked him out with one well aimed strike to the temple with the hilt of his sword. He sheathed his sword and turned to Estellise and Ioder, bowing again when they looked up at him. "Lady Catherine had more than an attempt on my life we needed to talk about," he said grimly.

* * *

While the assassination attempt on Ioder was new to all of them, it started to make things clearer. The guard had stopped completely when Estellise had gotten in the way. Catherine had wanted Estellise alive then, and under her control. Perhaps... alone, bereft of her cousin and her friends as well? Her ultimate goal still eluded Flynn, and he wondered if he would ever figure it out without her captured. And capturing her would be an issue, with her abilities to drain energy and get into others heads.

They had been discussing this in the study when the door slammed open, causing Estellise and Flynn to instantly go for their swords. "Estelle!" A familiar brown haired force of nature descended on them, bypassing Flynn completely to go straight for Estellise. Rita looked completely frazzled, as if she had been storming the palace looking for her friend. Any knight that either got in her way or had to tell her that Estellise wasn't in that location at that time must have had to wish blastia was still around and to be hit with one of her Tidal Waves after Rita was done. "What happened? I heard you were attacked!"

There was a fragile smile on Estellise's face as Rita looked her over, a realization coming to her. Her hands closed over the younger girl's, stilling her friend. "It's okay," she said softly. "I'll... I have a lot to tell you later." The words came choked out, and Flynn had to look away. It was a private moment between them, and he and Ioder both knew they were intruding between the two women. "Right now, we're going to need help. Do you remember anyone that's been in Catherine's presence? I... I mean, besides me?"

Rita frowned, confused, and Estellise had to explain what had happened earlier to Ioder. The teen's face turned more and more thoughtful as she talked, a hand going to her chin. She started to pace, still thinking. "That shouldn't be possible. She shouldn't have any way to do that without blastia- wait." Rita turned to Estelle, hands on her hips. "What do you mean, in Catherine's presence besides you?"

Estellise shot Flynn a panicked look. He understood; it would be hard to tell her now about what had happened with an audience. Flynn had been there, yes, but he was still an audience and her cousin was certainly not one she wanted to overhear this sort of thing. He nodded, turning to Rita. "Estellise wasn't the one who was attacked," he told her firmly. "I was. Catherine was the one that was behind at least the assassination at the execution, and she attempted to finish the job herself. Estellise was suspicious when she heard noises of a battle from my room and no guard reacting to it." He saw her giving him a skeptical look. "Catherine was much stronger than she looked, perhaps even inhumanly so. She was able to toss me around like I weighed nothing at all and and press me up against a wall. There-" His face felt like it was on fire. "-she pressed her lips against mine and inhaled. It-"

"Felt like she was drawing your life energy out?" Rita suddenly interrupted, her entire posture thoughtful again. Estellise shot him a grateful look as Rita considered that. "I know I've heard of something like that before, but I just- Estelle, what about you?"

"Me? Um... now that you mention it, it does sound familiar. But I don't remember." Estellise tried to remember, muttering to herself what Flynn had just described, but eventually gave up. "I'll have to check my books. Flynn?" She turned to him, curious. "How did you make her stop draining you?"

Rita straightened up, wanting to know the same thing, and Ioder leaned in. He was either going to have to be delicate about this, or- no. He looked at Estellise and Estellise alone, and said simply, "Yuri stabbed her in the back."

Her eyes went round as Rita and Ioder sighed at that. "Flynn," Rita started, "Yuri is dead."

"Yes, he is," Flynn said simply, looking at her. "He's ice cold, has no pulse, drinks blood, and Catherine confirmed it, saying he was wasting his death and calling him a vampire." Estellise jumped slightly at that, and everyone looked at her, Ioder reaching out to take her hand. "Do you know something about that, Estellise?"

"Yes." Her voice was subdued. "It's an old story. There was an old hunter and his daughter. They lived happily for many years. She never married, but rather took care of her father. Men from the nearby village would offer dowries, but her father would turn them down. One day, he went out to hunt for food, and never returned. Soon after, bodies of the men that offered marriage were found dead." Everyone was leaning in now, the parallels starting to match up in everyone's heads. "It's... different than what happened here. It wasn't... blood. It was..."

"Flesh." Everyone looked at Flynn when Estellise trailed off. "Judith told me what she could remember of the story."

Estellise nodded, pulling her hands away from Ioder's to settle into her lap. "She's right. It was. But otherwise it's similar. The old man was the same. He was dead, but he came back and attacked and hurt people just like- but he never hurt his daughter. He- he always protected her. People would come to try to take her away, and he would kill them, just show up and eat them. Eventually, the villagers killed him, and saying they rescued the daughter from a ghoul, but-"

"It's probably just a classification," Rita interrupted, thinking. "Ghoul for eating flesh, vampire for blood, and so on. Though I have to wonder what causes some people to come back, and what triggers their- what?" Estellise was staring at her, at Rita just stared back, uncomprehending. She just shook her head, taking the younger girl's hands.

"It's nothing," she told her with a small smile. It was with no slight amusement that Flynn noticed that Rita blushed at that, and did not pull her hands back. "So that... that's what Yuri is now?" She looked at Flynn, worry in her eyes.

"Yes," he said after a moment of hesitation. It was a loaded question, with a loaded answer. Estellise slumped slightly, and Rita turned to her, murmuring something he couldn't hear. She did perk up at that a bit, and they started talking animatedly, breaking off into their own conversation. Ioder didn't turn away, looking steadily at him. He leaned in, speaking quietly so the other two wouldn't overhear him.

"Where is he now?"

Flynn studied his face, realizing Ioder saw it a different way. While Estellise and Rita - even Flynn, if he thought about it - saw it as Yuri was still around, still protecting them in some way, Ioder saw the threat to his people. He hadn't forgotten about Yuri killing pets and monsters, and his eyes saw the mess of healing bite marks on Flynn's neck. A gauntleted hand gently brushed the bites before Flynn realized what he was doing, making him shiver and drop his hand. "He followed Catherine," he answered just as quietly. "Stabbing her through the back didn't kill her and he was very angry about both the assassination attempt and the mind control. Where that is, I couldn't say."

Ioder nodded, understanding though disappointed. "I can have a unit ready for you to be dispatched in a week," he started when Flynn shook his head.

"I'll have to decline." He looked over at Estellise. "I have other obligations." The two of them watched the women talk, watched the unease in Estellise's green eyes ease considerably as she looked over to Flynn, and he heard Ioder sigh.

"I see. Out of all the knights, you're the only one she can trust to not be affected." Ioder sat back, his voice still quiet. Flynn had to turn back to him, leaning in and straining his ears to hear. "Thank you, Commandant."

The title made Flynn blink for a moment, taken off guard. It felt almost too long since he had heard Ioder call him by his title. Then, he bowed, hand pressed against his heart. "The honor is all mine," he murmured.

* * *

The following weeks were rather quiet in comparison, especially when Brave Vesperia had to leave for another job. Certainly, they found several knights that had been controlled by Catherine, and it was almost intriguing how her control fractured. It didn't seem to all go at once; even Estellise had moments where she would stop suddenly and become completely blank. She was the fastest to start to recover, to unbind herself completely from Catherine's control, given her previous encounter with mind control and her own iron will, but when she went under the quickest way to pull her out they found was merely Rita's voice. It made Flynn smile as he noticed the younger of the two start to understand why, and not leave Estellise's side whenever possible.

It wasn't all perfect, however. The control still hovering around the knights and Estellise, for instance. It had started to become obvious Flynn was not her true target, but just one. The violence whenever a new bespelled knight entered Ioder's presence was frightening. They had started to work on breaking the mind control, trying various methods to see what worked and what people responded to. Not everyone responded to things the same way, but they all were working on it. Everyone was working on reclaiming their own minds, being sure their actions were their own and not influenced by another's.

And then there was Flynn.

It was the maid that woke him up to his actions. He, Rita, and Estellise had been in the library, searching for any clue as to what Catherine might be. There had been references to mind control, yes, but they had been all to blastia. Nothing to an internal ability that one might have. Out of a hunch, Flynn had grabbed a book on infernal realms, trying to slog through the dry text on the various denizens there. Yuri may have called her a demon, but that may have just been out of anger. Or he might have known what she was and actually been referencing it, he didn't know. He had just turned the page when something clattered by his side. In a flash, he was on his feet, sword drawn and pointed at the possible threat. On the other end was a terrified maid, her face drained of all color while Rita and Estellise stood as well. The princess took Flynn's arm, slowly lowering it while the teen took the maid aside, speaking with her. He looked over, seeing a cup of steaming tea resting innocently on the table.

"Flynn." Estellise cupped his face, forcing him to come back to himself. He turned to look down at her, swallowing. "It's okay. Rita's talking with her now. It's okay."

He looked back over to where the maid and Rita were, seeing the servant sobbing in terrified tears and Rita glancing back at Estellise in an awkward 'what do I do?' way. His gaze turned to the sword in his hand, then back to Estellise. She could have been another assassin, he wanted to say. She could have tried to kill me. She could be under Catherine's control, fracturing through it is, and attempting to kill me. But even he knew that wasn't true. Even he could see her emotions, her fear. Flynn sheathed his sword and closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Estellise due to shame. He felt her arms around him, a small measure of comfort, but he didn't return the hug.

She had been an innocent maid. He had nearly hurt an innocent maid. "What am I doing?" he whispered, feeling her tighten the hug. "What have I done?"

"It's okay," she whispered back. "We'll fix this too."

* * *

Servants outright refused to go anywhere near his room to clean it unless he was guaranteed to be away for the entire day. Flynn watched the maid scurry away after leaving his room as she caught sight of him rounding the corner, his hands catching into fists. He had thought the whispers that had been barely behind his back had hurt the worst. No one had prepared him for people being outright afraid of him, and his friends too busy supporting and healing each other for him. If Yuri had been there-

But no. There were more problems with that statement than just Yuri's disappearance. His current state of living, after all. His death count was another, perhaps larger one than his lack of pulse, even though they tied in together. Both were things he couldn't ignore, just as he couldn't ignore the ache to see the man again. And even that he hadn't told anyone how deep that had gone. How Yuri had directed him and guided him while he let himself be distracted, be relieved of his virginity at the hands of his childhood friend. How he wanted it more than anything then, and the realization that if he figured out why he wanted it, it would kill him. No, Flynn realized. He would let it kill him.

He tilted his head back, jaw flexing. He would let it kill him. That's how deep he let it get, and it was from someone he trusted with his life. Someone he had trusted for years. Perhaps the first person he had trusted. And he just let it happen. Flynn wrenched the door to his room open, his entire body trembling with repressed rage as he slammed it behind him once he was in. How could he have let it happen? Then he laughed bitterly, his hands coming up to run through his hair as he paced. Let? He let it happen as much as he let the assassination attempts happen. He let it happen as much as he let himself become paranoid at any flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye.

"You'll wear out the floor that way." Only the fact there was an unexpected voice registered first, and Flynn had his sword drawn Yuri's lounging form before he realized he recognized the voice. The maid must have left the window open, he thought belatedly, as it was too warm to leave them closed during the day. He had tried to tell the servants to close them, but they forgot some days while trying to be as comfortable as possible while cleaning. To Yuri's credit, he didn't react to Flynn pointing a sword in his face. He only smiled, still lounging on the sill. "So, the knights ranks seem even smaller than before. What's up?"

Flynn breathed slowly, deliberately, and sheathed his sword. It wasn't Yuri's fault he was on edge. "Catherine." It was enough of an explanation. He watched his friend's face darken at it. "There are some we've discovered who are still threats to His Highness."

Yuri made a disgusted noise. "So that was her plan." He tensed slightly as he heard someone outside the door, relaxing when they passed by without stopping. "I lost her trail at the Sands of Kogorh. Either she has a really good hiding spot there I couldn't find, or something ate her." Neither of them had to say they hoped that something had eaten her, for the amount of trouble she had left behind. Yuri looked at Flynn, his eyes odd. "You don't normally point a sword at me for no reason," he finally commented, standing and coming over to him.

Flynn's mouth instantly went dry, the only thing he could think of was memories of the last time they were alone. Of the pressure around his fingers and erection, the mouth at his throat, and the sounds Yuri made. "It's... been a hard couple of weeks," he said, then cursed his word selection as those eyes watching him darkened. He watched Yuri's chin tilt up, invitingly and oh. Yes. He did want to answer that unspoken question. He did want to start stripping off his now blisteringly hot armor and everything under it and pour all the stress of the last few weeks into a more carnal nature. He did want Yuri to show him more of what they could do together- just let Yuri take control and learn as his climax was wrung from however his childhood friend wished to do it.

But no. He didn't let himself get dragged in deeply, but he could stop himself from going too far. And he knew that feeling was too far. Flynn took one step away, taking a steadying breath. "You should go, Yuri. Check back on Desier to see if Catherine has resurfaced."

Disappointment flashed through Yuri's eyes, but he merely nodded and started to leave. Understanding took the place of disappointment when he looked back at Flynn, and he hesitated. "Hey," he said softly. "Judy's a pretty good person to talk to, you know." With those words, he left, leaving Flynn behind feeling slightly dumbfounded. Judith? What had he...?

Oh. Judith had left with the rest of her guild when another job had come up, having needed the money. As popular a guild as they were, their overhead costs were still rather high. But he was right, and he had already known that. He needed someone he trusted to talk to about what happened. Judith was intelligent, and her teasing was not the type that would make you feel angry or hurt. He would prefer Estellise or Yuri, but... well. Estellise was dealing with healing her own mind, and he just had first hand experience with what talking with Yuri would be like. Flynn quickly wrote a missive for her and started out to give it to a courier. He had no idea if she would go next to Dahngrest or back to Zaphias, but he figured a letter to their headquarters would not go amiss.

In the meantime... Flynn ran a hand through his hair, straightening it, and made sure his armor was a little more comfortable around his lower body. While Yuri's presence had made an impression that demanded more than requested a hand between his legs, the information he brought was more important. He would have to bring that to Ioder and Estellise's attention. Life, he reflected, kept moving on no matter what.

He knew what he was going to do.

* * *

A/N: Wow. I haven't written anything like this in a very long time.

I want to thank everyone. I don't care who you are right now, or what you've done. I don't care if you've commented, favorited, put this story on alerts, or just read it, I want to thank you. You commented/favorited/put it on your alerts/read my story. All of those separately are the highest honor you can give me. Thank you.


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